Movie Review: The Hunger Games

This review is a little bit late, but I had to make sure I posted and shared my thoughts. The Hunger Games movie was MUCH better then I thought it would be. I saw it at midnight with a group of my friends (I think there were ten of us in total) a couple of which who have never read the books (no matter my begging and urging that they should!). It is always an interesting experience to see people's responses, especially to something like The Hunger Games. 

First off, I was super iffy on the casting. However, I actually enjoyed most of how the characters are portrayed! While I agree that Jennifer Lawrence didn't exactly look like she was starving like Katniss should have, but I think she did a great job at acting like Katniss. Even in the books, Katniss was never meant to be the most likeable character. I, however, do wish they would have shown a bit more of Rue's relationship with Katniss. A few of my friends didn't grasp the closeness between Katniss and Rue, which was a bit saddening. Their relationship was one of my favorite aspects of the novel. 

 I wasn't super fond of Gale (though, truth be told, I didn't really like Gale in the novels either). It could have been because he didn't have a huge presence in the movie, but I'm not sure if I like the actor that is playing him. I guess future movies will tell! However, surprisingly enough, I really liked Josh Hutcherson's acting and he did a fabulous job as Peeta. He seemed really sincere and acted, in my opinion, like Peeta! There were a few actors that I had in mind as my perfect Peeta, but thinking back, I don't think they could have pulled him off quite like Josh did.

Overall, the movie was fantastic and I recommend it to everyone. I haven't found a friend who did not enjoy it! I still really enjoy the novel (more than the movie) but I think the movie definitely did a decent job. Oh! And my friends and I dressed up for the release! I used my Katniss costume from Dragon*Con and my friends dressed as tributes and other characters. We were pretty cool. I cannot wait until Catching Fire hits big screens!