With all the hype surrounding “The Hunger Games” in recent months, it’s no surprise that the midnight premiere was packed. I arrived at the theater two and half hours early and I wasn’t even close to being the first one there. It was almost impossible for my group of four friends to sit together.

Looking around at all the fellow attendees, I couldn’t help shaking the feeling of deja vu. Pre-teens were scattered throughout the theater with large groups dressed up as characters from the book. The theater was full of girls with braided hair just like main character Katniss Everdeen. My group of four college freshmen were among the oldest there, which was evident when the movie started with a wave of shushing and giggling throughout the crowd.

(Courtesy Lionsgate Films Inc.)

The screenwriters kept the movie as close to the book as possible. The parts that strayed from the book were necessary to help the film flow and be watchable in the 142 minute run time. Unfortunately, there were a few character developments that were not made in the film that were a crucial aspect of the novel. This led to me having to further explain these characters to a friend of mine who had not read the books. Also, the beginning half of the film leaned too much on the assumption that the audience had read the books. However, as it progressed, the movie started to make sense for any attendee of this film.

The main star, Jennifer Lawrence, gave a great performance, which truly drew in all the viewers. Josh Hutcherson, who played Peeta Mellark, Katniss’ love interest, was fantastic.  His previous roles in “Journey to the Center of the Earth” as well as “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”, were heavily geared toward young children. Hutcherson has grown  as an actor since then, with roles in movies like “The Kids are Alright” and now in “The Hunger Games.”

The directing of this film was quite sophisticated considering the audience it was geared toward.  Director Gary Ross’ previous work includes directing, writing and producing “Seabiscuit” and “Pleasantville,” as well as producing and writing “Big,” starring Tom Hanks.  Visually, he gave the audience something to sink their teeth into. The sound in this film also provided an interesting element. In the beginning of the film, before the real fighting even starts, there was a lack of background music, leaving the events and dialogue to provide the mood rather than the music. Once the fighting began, music was a key element to building and releasing tension.

This film, and the series of films it is soon to become, has potential for all audiences, not just pre-teens. The film had elements of other pre-teen hits like “Twilight” and “Harry Potter,” including young love, loyalty, family and sacrifice. However, the other themes found in “The Hunger Games” made its content quite mature and can go unappreciated by the younger masses it is directed towards.  The themes playing on today’s reality television culture and the actions of government sometimes took a backseat to the budding romance.

The violence in this film can be hard to swallow.  It is one thing to read about teenagers viciously killing each other, but to actually see it on screen in a film is different.  Are younger audiences ready to see such blatant violence?  This movie felt like a momentous film restricted by its intended young audience.

As far as comparisons to “Twilight” or “Harry Potter,” giggles were barely withheld from the audience when the love interests in the film would so much as look at each other.  And the “Team Peeta” and “Team Gale” t-shirts in the theater gave a definite “Twilight” vibe. But this epic adventure dealing with emotions all teens feel is more reminiscent of “Harry Potter.” It still remains to be seen if this series has the potential to live up to the lovability of the “Harry Potter” franchise.

In the end, I really loved this movie.  Such blatant violence on screen was a little jarring to see and the giggling in the theater made me roll my eyes a couple times. In the end, I really appreciated all the levels this movie was trying to work on. I am a sucker for young adult fiction, and this movie is just the beginning of the new franchise to sweep Hollywood. So Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds ever be in your favor.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ellie Patterson at Elizabeth.n.patterson@colorado.edu.