Movie Review: The Hunger Games movie

Where I watched it: Movie Theater
Rating: 4 stars
Movie Release Date: March 23, 2012
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 2 hour 22 minutes

I am one of the many that really enjoyed The Hunger Games series, so of course I was excited and nervous to see the movie. In short, I thought they did a very excellent job at it. The casting was spot on. I think every actor fit perfectly with the character they were playing. I really enjoyed the movie and thought it was done really well. There were quite a few things left out or condensed, but all in all I was not very disappointed.

Now for the long of it and there will be spoilers so reader beware ;)
There was barely any beginning to this movie. Everything happens very fast. You are introduced to some of the important characters, but they hardly feel important as Katniss and Peeta were whisked off to the Hunger Games. I think it worked okay for the movie, but it makes Peeta the logical love intrest, so it sort of cuts down on the internal struggle Katniss has picking between them. Next Madge? Anyone? Anyone? No Madge?! Why not. I think that Madge played a subtly important role and I was quite dismayed that they blotted out her existence. So the tributes are getting ready at the Capitol and I just felt like there wasn't much between Katniss and Peeta then. I think all the emotions that happen pre-games is what made them such dynamic characters in the books. You could see that they sort of become friends and then you see Peeta slow betrayal of that trust, that makes you wonder about him. I just felt like the character interactions could have been a bit stronger for the movie. I did love Cinna and Katniss, but again their movie relationship seemed a bit shallow and abrupt. There were also no transports for the dead bodies, which seemed a bit odd to take out, but ultimately didn't ruin the movie. I wished that there was more about Foxface but again, wasn't crucial to the story so they took it out. There were tons of things I loved about this movie though, like the command central for the games. It was very interesting to see the behind the scenes of the games. As easy as thinking it and they could do it. I'll mention the cast again, because the acting was great and they fit the characters so well. Definitely check out this movie. It got me so excited for the next three movies. I'm super excited to see the arena in Catching Fire. It's going to be crazy. Watching Mockingjay will be great too, because it's such a different story from the first two. So much happens and it's all very interesting. Anyways. the movie was lovely even though they left out a lot of things. My hope is that the relationships will get stronger in the next movie and then this series will be epic, like the books.

Have you seen the movie yet? If so leave your thoughts in the comments, or a link to your own movie review.