Not as bad as I thought it would be

Rating: 5/10 (27 December 2012)

I must admit I bought this because of the hype. It does take a while to get going it's true and I'd never read the book and wasn't sure about the premise - pitting 12 - 18 year old against each other to the death. It is a very odd film, like Big Brother with extra-ridiculous tasks. The contrast between the Districts and the Capitol are well done - dowdy one, ridiculously coloured the other. The whole bit of the actual chase is a little less than thrilling, though it does have its moments. They obviously spent a lot of money on it and you can see where. I found the ending a bit obvious. And the bit at the beginning with the heroine and her what you think of as her 'beau' is a bit wasted, because it doesn't really go anywhere. The acting's okay, given what they've been given to work with. It just feels overlong, over-hyped and could have delivered so much more. I know that they're making a sequel now, but I won't be rushing to see it.