I thought as a stand-alone movie it was okay. But like King said, when you compare it to Battle Royale from a story/character stand-point, it kinda hurts it a bit. But Hunger Games is about something larger then the game itself (rebellion, corruption, etc) and Battle Royale is strictly about the game and how to survive. So it's not 100% fair to compare it.
As a movie, it was cool. My biggest complaint (aside from the BR comparisons), is that the action scenes spent too much time trying to not be violent. The shaky camera allowed them to A) have half-assed choreography because you couldn't see 75% of it and B ) they're trying to tone down the violence for PG-13.
It was okay. I'll watch the rest of the movies. The acting was fantastic, the effects are fairly cool. But it's not going to replace Battle Royale in my mind as #1 of the genre.
EDIT:
The biggest thing I can't help but compare is that The Hunger Games is about Katniss and how she becomes this instrument in the Rebellion. Battle Royale is about 40+ kids and how they interact knowing they have to outlive their own friends to survive. So Hunger is about one chick, and Battle Royale spends time fleshing out every single kid. It's hard to fairly compare when it's two different ways to go about the story (one is first person present tense, the other is third person past tense), but I know what my preference is.
As a movie, it was cool. My biggest complaint (aside from the BR comparisons), is that the action scenes spent too much time trying to not be violent. The shaky camera allowed them to A) have half-assed choreography because you couldn't see 75% of it and B ) they're trying to tone down the violence for PG-13.
It was okay. I'll watch the rest of the movies. The acting was fantastic, the effects are fairly cool. But it's not going to replace Battle Royale in my mind as #1 of the genre.
EDIT:
The biggest thing I can't help but compare is that The Hunger Games is about Katniss and how she becomes this instrument in the Rebellion. Battle Royale is about 40+ kids and how they interact knowing they have to outlive their own friends to survive. So Hunger is about one chick, and Battle Royale spends time fleshing out every single kid. It's hard to fairly compare when it's two different ways to go about the story (one is first person present tense, the other is third person past tense), but I know what my preference is.