The Hunger Games: Critic Reviews

"The Hunger Games" may be derivative, but it is engrossing and at times exciting.

[It] arrives in theatres ... not only intact, but in command of the essentials of storytelling and characterization. The film deserves the massive success it will surely enjoy.

Measured against its downright subversive subtext, you have to come away impressed by the level of achievement.

A film that transforms a popular work of teen fiction not just by faithfully exploring its themes but, more important, by proving those themes have a very grown-up resonance.

"The Hunger Games" never really holds together or makes any sense, except as an elementary fairy tale about a young girl's coming of age and an incipient romantic triangle (which is the focus of the film, far more than the book).

Director Gary Ross' adaptation, co-scripted by Collins herself, isn't quite as crackingly paced as the novel, but it will more than satisfy existing fans of the trilogy and likely create many new ones.

Fans will be delighted. Non-fans should give this movie a chance.

Hunger Games has such a strong narrative structure, built-in forward movement and compelling central character that it can't go far wrong.

"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.

Can The Hunger Games, in the movie version directed by Gary Ross, successfully navigate the crossing from page to screen? Our answer: Eh.

The Hunger Games has epic spectacle, yearning romance, suspense that won't quit and a shining star in Jennifer Lawrence.

Well-paced, well-directed and extremely well acted entertainment.

If, as the ads suggest, the whole world will be watching this, viewers will likely be satisfied with what they see.

An exhilarating debut from the bestselling series about teenagers engaged in a deadly bloodsport.

The supporting cast is excellent (most notably Stanley Tucci as flamboyant television host Caesar Flickerman, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta's troubled mentor).

Given the recent failure of so many big-budget films, the odds weren't in The Hunger Games favor, either. Thankfully, Hollywood got this one right.

Some plot threads are underserved but The Hunger Games is a fascinating and disturbing character drama that successfully captures the core themes of the book.

Sure this entry is a ripoff of "Battle Royale," but it's still an entertaining ride with great casting that will more than likely please fans of the book and those who've never even heard of it.

Despite a few minor problems, The Hunger Games proves to be a promising start to what will no doubt become the next beloved Hollywood mega-series.

While the 12A rating renders any serious violence a tad impotent, there is much more going on here than the fawning and frowning of its soppy vampire peer.

A retread of a tale that's The Running Man meets Lord of the Flies with a dash of Twilight for tween-adoring measure.

I never thought I'd describe a film by Pleasantville and Seabiscuit director Gary Ross as 'whackadoodle,' but if the shoe fits.

The Hunger Games may be a flawed beast, to be sure, but there's plenty of subtext to glean from the narrative, and a slew of wonderfully rich characters worth investing in.

While a great ride of a movie, it is also one wrapped around an oddly disquieting message.

The first genuine can't miss film of the year that you'll want to go back to the theater to see over and over again.