Has a lot of potentials but didn't show

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2012)

The Hunger Games was a good movie but not great.
With its genre, the audience should feel the fear of being in an unknown territory surrounded by blood-thirsty teenagers and the compassion as the characters develop throughout the story.
I haven't read the book so I don't know what the movie lacks or what elements were overrated but based on what I've watched; the story has something the movie wasn't able to show maybe because of the rating or maybe the people behind the camera are just "playing safe."
Because of the theme and genre similarity, people who have watched Battle Royale can't help but to compare the 2 but for some reasons, I can't say that The Hunger Games is a Battle Royale rip-off.
However, Battle Royale left me thinking; "If I was there, how will I survive?" while The Hunger Games left me thinking; "If I was there, how will I change the game?"
The acting was nice and the main protagonist was true to her character; I especially liked how she showed her emotions with her eyes. The cheesy parts were forgivable and probably moved me if I'm 10 years younger.
Seeing Woody Harrelson as a mentor and a drunkard adds color to the movie's "environment" and I wasn't able to recognize Lenny Kravitz until the credits.