Along with millions of crazed preteen fans, I was lucky enough to be among the first viewers of The Hunger Games at the midnight opening last night. When my girlfriend and I arrived at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square theater at 9:30 pm, the line was already stretched the length of 3 full blocks. The vibe in the crowd was amazing --- very teenage-girl heavy, but my favorite costume was a grown man wearing a braided wig, carrying a bow and arrow, and running up and down along the line posing with it. There were also a number of brunette braids, homemade “Team Peeta” and “Team Gale” tee-shirts, a handful of imaginative Capitol outfits, and a multitude of Mockingjay symbols in the form of shirts, pins, and stick-on tattoos.
The crowd continued to buzz with anticipation as hundreds of fans were herded into theaters starting at 10:30. After having our tickets checked by about six different people, we headed into one of many theaters (there were showings at 12:00, 12:01, 12:02, 12:03, etc.) and got perfect seats right in the center.
Since I can't stand having anything about a movie given away before I see it (I usually don't even like watching trailers!) I'm going to keep my commentary about The Hunger Games to a minimum. But here are a few things I will say:
- I thought the movie stayed very true to the book. Having read and loved all three books, I was generally very satisfied with the adaptation. I read the first book before I knew there would be a movie, and from the start I imagined the story would translate very well to the big screen. I was right; the cast was fantastic, it was visually beautiful, and terror, tension, hope and heartbreak alternately set in at all the right moments.
- A note for the squeamish --- the movie did a great job of handling the violence while staying within the PG-13 rating. Although there were some brutal scenes, it was done tastefully and there were very few graphic or gory moments.
- I won't go into detail, but bring tissues.
Overall, I left the theater at 3 am feeling a little sleepy but very satisfied. If you're a die-hard fan like me, I hope you had as much fun at the midnight showing as I did; and for those who have yet to see it --- I hope it lives up to your expectations!
