Last night marked the introduction of the film we all looked forward to for months and months, The Hunger Games. Whether we’re avid fans of the book series or just getting introduced to Katniss in movie form, it’s safe to say that the film one of the best to come out this year. However, is our love of the book series going to taint how we feel about the movie like it did for Harry Potter?

**Spoiler Alert**

I went to The Hunger Games with three friends, two who’d read the book and one who had reservations about seeing something so related to Battle Royale, as he put it. At the end of the film, we all agreed that is was great! The acting was spot on, the arena was just as we readers imagined, and the story was easy enough to understand for the one who’s never read the books.

But those that did read them felt something missing, because almost every moment we were comparing the movie to the book, word for word. At least, I sure did. I know it’s something all avid fans do when they watch the adaptation on film. We can’t help but notice how different Haymitch’s introduction is, or that Katniss buys her pin from The Hob instead of getting it from Madge. And, because of all of this, we focus more on how many wrongs there are and not enough on how many things they did right.

As a film, The Hunger Games was absolutely phenomenal. We got that sense of urgency and violence the book always delivered, and it slowed down at the right moments to give peace to Rue’s death and Thresh’s shining moment as Katniss’ savior. It truly felt like a reality show, from Casear Flickerman’s wonderful talk shows to following characters through the woods and giving us the ability to see how the Gamemakers have all 24 tributes’ lives in the palm of their hands. But all of these are realizations I’ve made after I left the theater and started thinking about it more. In the theater, I didn’t get a chance to really savor in the greatness of the movie, because I was too busy thinking about how different things were and how they should have been.

This weekend I plan on seeing the movie again, if not twice more, and it’s something I recommend all us Hunger Games fans do. I know I’m not the only one disappointed by the lack of someone falling in a punch bowl or not seeing a drunk Haymitch fall off stage. Next time, I can stop worrying about what else they’ll leave out and look forward to seeing the movie as just a movie, now that I’ve gotten the initial shock of seeing it out of my system.

So, what about you? Do you think you’ll watch this movie again? Or have you already decided that once was enough?