The film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling book The Hunger Games has become one of the most-hyped films of 2012. With the fifth-highest Friday opening of all time ($68.25 million), it's safe to say that this is the year's "film on fire." As a fan of the original trilogy, I was simultaneously excited and nervous about the movie, but I found director Gary Ross' vision to be loyal to the book and very well done.

Ross opens the film with a silent textual introduction explaining the story behind the Hunger Games. Every year, one boy and one girl "tribute" are taken from each of the futuristic country Panem's 12 districts and forced to fight to the death in a televised pageant. Only one tribute out of 24 is left alive at the end. The Games were enacted by Panem's government, the Capitol, to punish the districts for a past rebellion and to keep them under control.

The first sound the audience hears is screaming, the result of Primrose Everdeen's (Willow Shields) nightmare. Prim is the sister of protagonist Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), and we see the sisters embracing as Katniss attempts to calm Prim. The 12-year-old is scared because this is the day of her first Reaping-the ceremony in which the tributes are chosen.

Throughout these beginning scenes, we see glimpses of the poverty in District 12, whose industry is coal mining. Visually, the district evokes the feel of an Appalachian town: Its citizens are dirty, live in run-down shacks and are starving, as indicated by a man sucking the marrow out of chicken bones.

Their destitute nature is juxtaposed by the blatantly opulent lifestyle of the citizens in the Capitol, who are the target audience for the broadcast of the Hunger Games. At the Reaping, Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) is dressed in head-to-toe pink (including her eyelashes and hair) and exudes a cheerfulness that is sickening to watch, considering that she is in the district to choose two children to compete in the Games. Her declaration that it is an "honor" to be chosen falls flat on the frightened and horrified faces of the kids.

As Prim's name is called for the female tribute, there is complete silence, punctuated only by Katniss' screaming as she volunteers to take her sister's place as tribute. Effie is excited by the turn of events and asks the crowd to applaud for Katniss, but they merely hold their hands up in a three-fingered gesture of respect, refusing to bend to the conventions of the Capitol. Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is chosen as the male tribute, and the two stand stock-still on the stage with terror in their eyes.

Katniss and Peeta travel to the Capitol where they begin to train for the Games. Their mentor, Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), is a drunkard and offers little help at first.

The only character we meet who seems to understand Katniss is her stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Kravitz plays Cinna with a gentle and upfront nature so different from anyone else in the Capitol that he is immediately endearing. When they first meet, Katniss says, "Most people just congratulate me." Cinna responds, "I don't see the point in that."

Lawrence as Katniss is incredible. She has an ability to show every emotion she experiences on her face, allowing the audience to see into Katniss' thoughts and motivations. In the moments before she goes into the arena, Katniss speaks to Cinna and you can see her visibly trembling in fear, her face almost devoid of expression as she contemplates the awfulness of what she is about to be forced to do.

In contrast, Hutcherson as Peeta is decent. His character is more emotionally static than Katniss, and we just don't see as much of him. There was little chemistry between the two, so I had a very hard time believing that he loves Katniss, something which he confesses in a pre-Games interview; and, despite Lawrence's acting skills, I didn't believe that she cared about helping Peeta. But the plot is driven by much more than the feelings between the two, so the storyline of the film was not much affected.

There are many small details in the film that enhance the viewing experience. For example, after an explosion, the only noise to be heard is a single high-pitched note, similar to the ringing in one's ears after an extremely loud incident. Also, the camerawork tended to be shaky, which added to the hectic, tension-filled subject matter.

Collins co-wrote the script with two other writers, so there were few major plot details different from the book. But one detail that sticklers to the book-and fans of Gale, Katniss' best friend from home-will probably take issue with is that Gale (Liam Helmsworth) plays a very small part in the film. We get the sense that she and Gale hunt together in the woods a lot, but the depth of their relationship is not communicated clearly. Another plot change fans may take offense with is that Prim gives Katniss the mockingjay pin (which comes to symbolize resistance in the districts) instead of the mayor's daughter. Despite these changes, however, Collins' involvement should assuage viewers' concerns that the movie deviates too much from the book in this instance.

But there are also aspects of the Games that we are able to see that were not in the book simply because the novel is solely from Katniss' perspective. We see the gamemakers controlling the arena from behind the scenes as well as reactions from citizens in the districts as they watch their tributes suffer. That is not to say that the movie is better than the book, just that the movie is able to go beyond first-person, making it possible to reveal further details of how the Games function.

Overall, the film is a well-executed adaptation that stays, for the most part, true to the original story. Fans of the book and newcomers to the series alike should find themselves drawn into the dystopian world of Panem and enthralled by Lawrence's remarkable performance.