4/5. A must-see

Rating: 9/10 (23 March 2012)

I read the book and I loved it. That's saying a lot coming from me because I don't like to read books (I have my reasons). But Hunger Games was something I couldn't put down. But I read it and I was ready for the movie.
Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is a 16 y/o girl living in the former USA, now named Panem, a country divided into 13 districts, and she lives in District 12 with her 10 y/o sister Prim (Willow Shields), and her mother (Paula Malcomson). Every year, each district must pay tribute to the evil Capital by sending 1 boy and girl between the ages of 12 & 18 to fight to the death for a reality TV show called the Hunger Games and only 1 Tribute may live. When Prim's name is randomly called to be in the Games, Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place. Soon, she and her male Tribute counterpart, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are taken to the Capital to prepare for the Games. After making an impression with audiences in the Capital, and training with the other Tributes, the rest of the story revolves around Katniss surviving in the Games.
Too often adaptations change so much in the name of appealing to a wider audience, but this was faithful to the original source material. The sets were simple, but fantastic, and as soon as the story reaches the Capital, the sets are gorgeous. Also, the costumes. The make-up department, the people who did the costumes all must have been extremely busy, but HAD to have had the most fun of their careers. Literally, not figuratively, hundreds of people with the most elaborate and ridiculous hair and make- up styles that gave the Capital a strange and funny personality. I give major props to them all, extras and crew alike.
As Katniss Everdeen, Jennifer Lawrence was well-cast. She is believable in this role. But she has a few misses, though that might be the fault of the director, not hers. Certain scenes felt like she should have escalated more, and were certainly more intense in the book, and not in the movie. But that's not to say that Lawrence didn't have her incredible moments. Your heart churns when she cries (the reasons for which I will not spoil). Elizabeth Banks is very spot-on as Effie and is by far one of the more colorful of the side characters that you can't help but love. Lenny Kravitz as Cinna was also surprisingly engaging, despite his limited acting experience. Woody Harrelson as Haymitch was also very well-cast, as he is usually good in ANYTHING that he does. Not much to say about Liam Hemsworth, as his role as Gale is very small. Same with Donald Sutherland as the evil President. But Josh Hutcherson as Peeta was the show-stealer. He is so charming and funny, and when he's being serious, he grabs your heart-strings and yanks. He is by far the best actor in the movie.
Now, I can't close off this review without addressing my complaints. First of all, and this isn't anyone's fault, just a product of an inability to properly adapt books to movies, but certain scenes felt rushed. For those who are fans of the book, they will notice this and might make them slightly aggravated that the movie couldn't take the time to develop those certain scenes. But I won't fault the movie for this. However, I am putting my foot down on one particular moment. THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD, so if you don't want that, don't read the next paragraph.
In the book, when Katniss and Rue, a 12 year old Tribute, meet up, they strike a sisterly friendship. Rue is portrayed in the story as adorable, funny, and surprisingly resourceful. As most books can do, the author develops the relationship between Katniss and Rue and the more you learn about the young girl, the more you grow attached to her. So when she is killed by Marvel, the scene plays out so heart- wrenchingly that I would be surprised if anything less than half of the readers didn't cry. I may not have, but I got very misty-eyed. The scene was just so powerful that you get incredibly mad at this world and what these teenagers are forced to do. This is where I get mad at the movie. That scene is, while still effective and moving, is SEVERELY underplayed compared to the book. I don't want to talk down on Amandla Stenberg as Rue, as she was as perfectly casted as Rue as Josh Hutcherson was as Peeta, but that should have been the most heart-breaking scene of the movie. Tears should have been falling. I know that the run time is 142 minutes, but they should have invested just 5 more minutes of Katniss talking to Rue so the audience can get as attached to Rue in the movie as the readers of the book did in the novel. Her death in the movie was just not AS effective as it should have been. VERY disappointed in the filmmakers for underplaying one of the saddest moments in the novel.
Despite that shortcoming, the Hunger Games is still a great movie and a faithful adaptation to the book. If you're a fan, I wager you'll love it. If you're not a fan, I bet you'll still enjoy it. While it's 8.2 rating on IMDb.com will probably drop to a high 7, believe me, you wouldn't be wasting your time. It's an intense, dystopic story full of its fair share of humor, excitement, but more importantly, heart. If you need that "young hero" fix in your movies, Hunger Games will not let you down. A strong 4/5.