The Hunger Games (2012)

When you're the fan of a book or set of books, there is always a bit of trepidation when you hear that a movie is coming out based on it or them. Movies are never the book, there is just so much you can't do in a movie, though there is some argument that a mini-series (if done properly) can do justice to a book, but lets stick to movies. Sometimes, they get it very right like Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first Harry Potter movie. Sometimes, they get it wrong, like with the Golden Compass. Thank god this is one of the former.
I watched the previews and ads along with everyone else before this movie hit the theaters, and then I tried to block it out since then, as I didn't want to hear any reviews, especially the internet forum type of thing where people listed what was left out or what was changed. There is time for that after you've seen the movie and decided for yourself if it was good or not. Before the release, I read that Suzanne Collins was very happy with how it turned out. And the only review I listened to after it came out was from the friend who had turned me onto the books, and she loved the movie. Both of those were good enough for me.
And I was not disappointed.
First the props - casting was amazing. Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherlin, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks were all perfect for their roles and in fact looked very much like how I imagined the characters while reading the book. I expected Snow to be a little thinner and Haymitch to be a little heavier, but that was quickly forgotten. Interestingly, I imagined Snow as being Donald Sutherlin while reading the books. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth did not look at all how I imagined Peeta and Gale, respectively. But you know what? That's okay. Both of these young men put in performances that made me forget about my preconceptions.
The special effects and costumery were top notch. The fiery outfits for Katniss and Peeta were great, as was Katniss's interview dress, they were all toned down from the descriptions in the book though. But they still worked.
Now the cons - there are really only two that I have, and they're both small nitpicky fanboy kinds of things, well maybe more movie fanboy than Hunger Games fanboy, you be the judge. Caesar explaining tracker jackers as being genetically engineered wasps seemed out of place. They could have gotten by just fine with explaining the effects and showing the insects and let us work out what it was, which they did do the animal pack at the end. The other issue were the boys hair-dos for the guys from the 'professional' districts. They all looked very 2010, which is around the time they would have been preparing to shoot and I think they're going to look dated in a couple of years. I think if they had allowed for some variety in these four or five boys it would go a long way towards stopping this potential datedness.
As you can tell I'm very happy with what I saw and should not be surprised to hear that I'm eagerly awaiting the sequels. And I'll make sure and thank my friend the next time I see her, for turning me onto these books and suggesting that I will love the movie, too.

Hunger Games at IMDb