Even though I don’t vocalize it nearly as much as I did with the Harry Potter series, I am an avid fan of the The Hunger Games triology. After reading the first two books of the series my sophomore year I knew that there would a movie made any day and it was just a waiting game to see which studio would pick it up and who would star in all the lead roles.

I knew the movie version would either be horrible or amazing, just because there’s no way to only half portray the story. For those who don’t know the story of The Hunger Games, the first book tells the story of post-apocalyptic North America, where in the newly created country of Panem citizens of its 12 districts are kept under control by holding a yearly “Hunger Games.” The Hunger Games require a boy and a girl tribute from each district between the ages of 12 and 18. Once the 24 tributes are chosen they are then sent to an arena to battle to the death until there is one winner. The Hunger Games were said to be created in an attempt to dissuade rebellion and create fear of authority in a post-apocalyptic world.

To create this whole new world clearly a lot of money would go into the production. Readers were all expecting to visually experience a world that was just as vivid as Collins described in her books. I thought that the producers of the movie did an excellent job of making sure to create a setting that was essentially realistic, despite all the futuristic elements. At no time during the movie did I stray from believing Panem was a place that could truly exist.

But the real aspect of the movie I was most excited for was who would play my favorite characters. Throughout the series my favorite character was the alcoholic mentor Haymitch, who often added a bit of comic relief to the story line while also being a solid friend in the life of Katniss, the protagonist. When I found out Haymitch would be played by Woody Harrelson, I was ecstatic. Who better to play that role? I was also excited to see the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland fill the other adult roles, as I’m fans of shows and movies they have all been in and I consider them all very talented actors.

I wasn’t as sure about the actors that were playing the three younger characters, the protagonist Katniss, her fellow District 12 tribute Peeta and her long life friend and possible romantic interest Gale. Jennifer Lawrence ended up doing a fantastic job as the lead, and while Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Liam Hemsworth (Gale) didn’t have nearly as much time to shine, I was still impressed with how well they did with what they were given. It was obvious all of them understood their characters.

It’s always a little nerve wracking to see one of your favorite books turned into a movie. I was really happy though with the results. They did a better job of portraying them then the producers of the Harry Potter movies did, in my opinion. I’m definitely excited for the next installment.