An accurate adaptation isn't enough

Rating: 6/10 (7 April 2012)

The Hunger Games film was oddly underwhelming. Accurate to the book, but not really very good or interesting as a film. They could have done so much more to actually make it exciting. I'm actually disappointed, the trailers really had me excited.
I think they could have played more with the difference of how the Capital was presenting the games and the reality of being in them. They missed the opportunity to use the "reality look" they did so well in moments of introspection and Katinis's helplessness and juxtapose that with how the Capital was presenting the games (like an action movie). That would have served to strengthen the "horror" of the games and would also have shown us why the Capital residents are so caught up in the glorified violence of the games, and not just serve as a way to explain what Tracker-Jackets are.
More importantly, it also would have broken up the monotony of the tone - I get that director Gary Ross wanted to pull any pleasure out of the games and make sure we all understood they were evil and to feel icky about them, however I think Jennifer Lawrence did a great job conveying that anyway and we wouldn't have lost any of that feeling.
It feels like a missed opportunity to me.