Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2012

This muscular, gritty adaptation of the first of the wildly popular fangirl books is made even better by the casting of Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) in the lead. In a post-apocalyptic world, each of 12 North American districts must send a young girl and boy, called “tributes,” to compete in a televised, gladiatorial tournament-to-the-death. Katniss (Lawrence) proves a popular competitor and cultivates a public romance with her partner (Josh Hutcherson) that later develops into something genuine. But, according to the rules of the Games, if she is to win, he must die. Twilight this is not.