Reclining in the chair at the Glen 10 Theater at 12:01 a.m. of Friday, March 23, I looked up eagerly as the screen flashed from boring advertisements to previews. In 15 minutes, the movie I had been waiting for so long to see would finally show, either fulfilling or crushing my high expectations for the book-turned-film.

The  Hunger  Games. A televised competition to keep the 12 districts of  dystopian Panem under the Capitol’s control. One boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each district battle individually until their literal last breath in an arena. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two months, you should know what I’m talking about.

I first met Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, in eighth grade shortly after the novel was first marketed. I was immediately drawn to her courageousness in the face of evil. I mean, in the first few pages of the novel, she volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in the Games as the female tribute for District 12. She also maintains a genuine, wholehearted personality throughout the entirety of the book, even as she is forced to kill or be killed in a strange arena.

The other protagonist of the novel is Peeta Mellark, the male tribute from District 12. In contrast to Katniss, it was not apparent in the beginning that he was a character to be admired. He is the son of the town baker, and he is known for being kind and gentle, yet extremely self-deprecating. Other than him being a good person, there was nothing  special about his character that made him easy to identify with.

No matter what my initial impressions of the characters were, Collins does a fantastic job in developing the characters into relatable human beings with real human emotions and thoughts despite the mental turmoil they are put through when training for the Games. While of course they do suffer from lapses of right-mindedness during the competition, Katniss and Peeta remain humble, brave warriors who remain true to their roots in District 12 and retain their true identities.

This is why, when the movie was casted, I was hesitant at what I would find. Hollywood directors had gone terribly wrong in casting Kristen “I-Only-Have-One-Facial-Expression” Stewart as Bella Swan in Twilight, and I was terrified that Gary Ross, Hunger Games director, would make the same mistake. And with Peeta, who I eventually came to have a soft spot for, they could either hit the character’s sincerity right on or completely miss the mark.

But Jennifer Lawrence turned out to be just the right woman to play the heroine Katniss. Her calm but determined demeanor was the perfect combination to win the hearts of avid Hunger Games fans like myself.

Peeta, on the other hand, is played by Josh Hutcherson. While there is no denying his good looks and charming disposition, I was less than thrilled with his acting. It seemed as though every line was forced out of him, contrary to Peeta’s naturally easygoing personality. Plus, he had to dye his signature brunette locks blond for the film, obviously lacking authenticity. Call it a small detail, but Peeta’s blondeness is a characteristic emphasized throughout the entire novel.

The only other true disappointment for me was that the film left out key moments of the novel that will come into play in the next two movies. Not to get into too much detail, but viewers never meet the Avox people, like Lavinia, who have had their tongues cut out as punishment from the Capitol.  They play important roles in the book and I assume the coming films, and it concerns me that filmmakers will have to insert made-up scenes in order to introduce this phenomenon. I would have preferred that they stuck more closely to the novel and recognized the importance of looking to the future.

Overall, the film mostly maintained the integrity of Collins’s masterpiece. It ultimately lived up to the hype, and although some key elements were missing, I have confidence in Ross’s ability to smoothly incorporate those parts into the next films. If you haven’t checked out The Hunger Games yet, it is definitely a valuable investment of $10. With its love triangle, hard-hitting topics and somewhat frightening violence, it is a film that truly appeals to the masses.