The Hunger Games opened in theaters at midnight last night and people are already raving about the new film. Box Office numbers aren’t available yet ( Lionsgate is expecting record breaking numbers ) but the first reviews are out.
The movie isn’t universally loved but the majority of critics have given it a favorable rating. On Rotten Tomatoes The Hunger Games currently has a 86% positive rating from critics and a 95% positive rating from fans.
Christy Lemire of the Associated Press writes: “‘The Hunger Games’ runs nearly two and a half hours in length but is the rare film that never drags and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It could keep running as long as Katniss does, and we’d want to be right there every heart-pounding step of the way.”
Amy Biancolli of the San Francisco Chronicle praises Jennifer Lawrence’s acting. Biancolli writes: “It features a functioning creative imagination and lots of honest-to-goodness acting by its star, Jennifer Lawrence, who brings her usual toughness and emotional transparency to the archer-heroine Katniss.”
Roger Ebert adds : “The Hunger Games is an effective entertainment, and Jennifer Lawrence is strong and convincing in the central role.”
But not everyone was impressed with the new film. Stephen Whitty writes at the Newark Star Ledger that the movie doesn’t capture the same magic that was present in the books. Whitty writes: “Forced to finally show us what Collins mostly left to our imaginations, it often falters.”
Richard Corliss of Time Magazine has the same issue: “Can The Hunger Games, in the movie version directed by Gary Ross, successfully navigate the crossing from page to screen? Our answer: Eh.”
Have you seen The Hunger Games? Here’s a trailer for the new movie.
