Surprisingly awesome!!!

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2014)

Honestly I watched this film under pressure from friends and enjoyed it, much to my alarm, so out of curiosity I decided to watch it on my own and I enjoyed it even more. Firstly what made the movie for me was the performance turned in by Jennifer Lawrence who took the core elements and grittiness mixed with a subtle and not weakling like vulnerability, I'm sorry but I was totally bought into the film on this alone. The actual story was handled in a very 'grown up' manner for a film of this sort (based on a teen book series) cause I'm sorry for the most part they suck. I am a 31 year old man and Twilight-esque teen melodrama does not float my boat. The Hunger Games has shown me that if handled well films of this kind can be pretty darn good. Secondly the condensing of the story hugely satisfied me as I hate things being overly drawn out just because the director is trying to not only remain faithful to the book but also recapture it for the big screen. Many fans of the book have in fact complained about this element claiming it gave no real depth or insight but hey everyone is a critic these days. I for one found myself totally immersed in the story without an unnecessary amount of back log. So watch with an open mind and forget everything you would normally assume of 'teen flicks' and enjoy. Brutal in parts and with moments of sheer nerve shredding tension shows how this film is truly head and shoulders above the rest of it's kind.