Entertaining on its own, weak compared to the book

Rating: 6/10 (8 August 2012)

In a futuristic world the former USA is now Panem, which is divided between the Capitol (who governs it) and the 13 Districts. At some point a revolt broke between against the Capitol, resulting in the destruction of the 13th District and the start of the Hunger Games, in which a male and a female teenager from each district is thrust into an arena and forced to fight to the death like modern gladiators: a constant reminder of the Capitol's power. The story follows the couple from District 12, Katniss and Peeta in the 74th Hunger Games.
First of all, I have to point out that the book is told from Katniss' point-of-view.
The change they made in narrative hurts a lot the movie, as it makes no effort to try and find an alternative. It took away a lot of the emotional depth, lacking Katniss' emotional turmoil at the arena, her conflict regards her own emotions towards Peeta and her observations regarding what's happening around her. The tributes, too, are less developed and Katniss' relationship with some (the District 11 ones especially) is somewhat more shallow; making it so we don't connect with them as much as we do in the novel.
It also takes alway much of the political and social insight on the Capitol and the Districts, which is the books' greatest intelligence. They left out many concepts such as the Avox and the Capitol's exploitation of the Districts. Their caricature of our world, both present and past, is what makes the 'Hunger Games' more than just a normal teenager novel and makes it thought-provoking too.
Now, what the movie did. The shaky cam, the director's 'answer' to the POV, not only fails at its goal but also takes from the actual movie-goers entertainment. The whole character development is almost null, they totally changed Haymitch's character (in the book, he is pretty much a self-destructive drunkard which is caused by everything he witnessed in the past as a former tribute and mentor in the games) and Peeta's actor was just terrible (I didn't like Peeta in the books either, but he was a lot better than this).
For the good: Jennifer Lawrence is wonderfully cast; she does a very good Katniss and actually tries to convey the internal turmoil of her character despite the problems the adaptations offers. Effie Trinket was really well-done, Donald Sutherland (despite the small role) is ideal for transmitting President Snow's eerily calm and manipulative nature (which will be seen more in the sequels), and I liked how they expanded on Seneca, who was almost non-existent in the novel. The action scenes, while short and slightly impaired by the shaky cam, are still well-done; and Rue's death, while not as impacting as in the novel, is still a touching moment (the addition of the rebellion was a nice touch too, foreshadowing some of the sequel's events).
The visuals are good as they managed to capture the right imagery for the Capitol and the District 12, as well as their inhabitants.
Conclusion: The movie is still tense and a lot of fun to watch. It's a very flawed adaptation, and the book's fans will probably not like it very much, but as a stand-alone it's well worth a watch.