For those that have not read the book will find that it is a very good and entertaining movie. For those die hard fans out there, it was exciting to see the book come to life, but the movie left some things to be desired; a few more crucial details from the book would have been nice. The acting was ok, but the chemistry and relationships between characters needs to be worked on for the next movie.

I think that the movie is probably great if you haven't read the book. If you see this though after reading the book I think you will be disappointed. There are too many crucial parts that are either changed or missing from the story. I hope that the squeal follows more closely along with the book.

As someone following the marketing campaign of the movie, I had an image in my mind of what this movie would be. Having seen it, I have a completely new one and I find that incredibly exciting that they really didn't give much away. I would argue that posters and trailers have painted this as an epic battle but the movie felt tense and personal. There's a real sense of following Katniss, even with something as simple as adjusting to the bright sun as she pops into the arena. As everyone expects, Lawrence doesn't disappoint and does so largely without speaking (counting to herself, shaking in pain etc.), but other truly delightful and perfectly cast actors are Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks (didn't really expect that) and Woody Harrelson. The absolute highlight for me was the Reaping, which was chilling to a point that I didn't expect the movie would reach, even knowing the storyline. Overall a solid, emotionally tense movie that paves the way for future installments.

I spent the entire movie waiting for that "moment" that would make me care about the characters, the way I did in the book. The movie did a disservice to the book. The acting was mediocre, Woody Harrelson( Haymitch) was great as was Isabel Furhman (Clove), no one else made much of an impression, except maybe the dude who played Peeta. He was okay, just okay..

The film was so-so, you could tell throughout the movie parts of the story was missing and they didn't go into detail enough to really fill everyone in on all of the happenings. But with my wife and daughter reading the book they were even disappointed. They feel the same way I do, the movie should of told more of the story. I really wonder why they didn't break the movie up into 2 parts to make it more enjoyable for the people that didn't read the book. People are complaining about the violence of the movie but I personally have seen more violence in a Tom & Jerry carton. Yes there are kids killing kids but you really don't get horrified by it, during the biggest killing scene of the movie your see more bodies than people actually getting killed. If I had to rate this movie from 1 - 10, I would give it a 5. If they do another movie I hope they actually go into the story line a little more.