Happy Hunger Games! {#HungerGames Movie Review}

I bought The Hunger Games for my Nook back in October but for some reason I didn’t actually read the book until last month when I started seeing more and more talk about the movie. I’m kicking myself for not reading it earlier now! I ended up reading the entire trilogy in 5 days. Many of those nights I was up until 2am trying to get as much reading done as I could.

If you haven’t read The Hunger Games or haven’t heard of it {Where are you??}, here’s a synopsis:

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Part twisted entertainment, part government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.

Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

{Possible Spoilers Ahead}

My husband and I showed up to the theater at least an hour and a half early and atmosphere was electric! Movie-goers were dressed in Hunger Games t-shirts and I saw an entire row of girls with their hair in one long braid like Katniss.

From the start of the movie, I loved seeing the books come to life. From District 12 to the Capital to the Arena, each scene is shot in a real and gritty way.

If you ever doubted the actors that were chose for the characters, you won’t after seeing this movie. 5 minutes with each character and you can’t imagine anyone else playing them. Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Katniss, stole the entire movie. She was phenomenal. She portrayed so many different emotions from when she volunteered for her sister in the Reaping to right before she enters the arena to her interactions with Peeta. I had a really hard time imagining Josh Hutcherson as Peeta but not anymore. His character doesn’t even talk for almost 15 minutes after we first see him but he portrays so many different emotions on his face. You can’t leave this movie without loving Peeta.

Photo Credit: Murray Close

Photo Credit: Murray Close

There are a few changes to the movie from the book, but nothing that bothers me too much. In fact, there are changes that actually make the movie like being able to see The Gamemakers manipulating things in the Arena and reactions from Gale and Katniss’ family in District 12.

If you’re wondering about the violence, it’s definitely there. After all the premise of the book is 24 people trying to kill each other. Although it’s a PG-13 movie, I felt like a lot of the violence was contained in a scene right after they enter the Arena. There are a few deaths after that of course, but they don’t show too much. It’s definitely for older teenagers and adults.

If you’ve read the books, you’re going to love the movie. If you haven’t read the books? You’re going to love the movie! My husband actually admitted that he loved the movie and we spent the whole drive home with him asking me questions about the books.

Will you be going to see The Hunger Games in theaters? What are your thoughts if you have seen the movie already?

Disclosure: I received passes to a screening for the above movie. All thoughts and opinions are my own.