Ever since the very first Harry Potter movie came out and my poor little heart was broken by technicalities, talentless actors and other bummers all book-worms complain about, I've had very low expectations for movie adoptions.Particularlyfor ones I adore.
For instance, taking my boyfriend to see The Lovely Bones completely killed my mojo when I saw how godawful the movie was. The first Twilight movie got me so mad that I never wanted to see another one again. So whose up at the top of the latter? Probably Lord of the Rings, some older Steven King adaptations and I think they did a good job with the Hunger Games. When I say this, I know there are always going to be little mismatches here and there (and most of them for the Hunger Games happened toward the beginning pre-games) but when a movie is done right overall and true to the story, the acting is good and the actors/scenery are up to par to some degree to how you saw them/it, I can be more forgiving.
The first thing that impressed me was District 12 itself. Every 'place' that they captured in the film did not fail to please the eyes and the imagination. Speaking of imagination, the tracker jacker hallucination scene was awesome, and I was glad to see/hear all of the first person experiences Katniss had for instance when she was distracted by the crowd, and when her ears were ringing. The entire costume line for both the games attire and the Capitol fashion style were both spot on. Katniss' outfit and pack in the games were just as I imagined (though I hate to say I was disappointed in their flaming wear. It wasn't as incredible as it should have been. Though they cast a rockin' Cinna and made sure to give him those golden eyes!). As was her hair, and though I think she's a little too sexed up in the media right now (that turns me off from the actress, but that's what sells) she really rocked my heroine, and that made me happy.
As far as the actors I'm not sure if it was mere exposure (a social psychology term for the more you see/hear something, the more you tend to like it) or I just prefered seeing Josh Hutchenson's face moving than in still pictures. I went off about how ugly he was forever, but he was a good Peeta (as an actor, and now he's the face of Peeta as is what happens when one sees a movie after reading a book). Not as spot on in my mind as Katniss, but PRETTY, PRETTY good. I kind of want to go and watch all the movies he's been in now (like a silly fangirl) since I know a lot of them but of course never noticed him in there!
Gale on the other hand, I thought was a hottie from the start and aside from his looks he played a spot on version of the Gale I imagined and from the books. I can't wait to see more of him in the next movie. I've yet to check out his IMDB, but I will!
A big surprise was Donald Sutherland, who didn't just have some walk on role for once (it's been a while since I've seen him as a substantial character in a film) and he never disappoints. As far as his awesome (facial) hair and wardrobe, he did look the part.
Haymitch I was worried about, but he pulled it off so far. Rue wasn't what I expected. Actually, none of the other tributes really were. And the dogs at the end let me down.
Overall? I'm afraid to see what critics gave the film, but my initial impression (which may sometimes be higher than the next day impression) is a 7.5/10 stars! I'd go see it again if the occasion rose!
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