Isabella Reicher: Auftakt zum Sci-Fi-Filmepos: „Die Tribute von Panem“. In: Der Standard. 21. März 2012 (Onlineartikel [abgerufen am 29. Oktober 2014]).
Lisa Schwarzbaum: The Hunger Games. In: Entertainment Weekly. Nr.1200, 30. März 2012 (Onlineartikel [abgerufen am 4. November 2014] „This Hunger Games is a muscular, honorable, unflinching translation of Collins’ vision. … Katniss … is the heart and soul of the Story … And Jennifer Lawrence … is, in her gravity, her intensity, and her own unmannered beauty, about as impressive a Hollywood incarnation of Katniss as one could ever imagine. … Fans of the book and moviegoers coming to the story fresh may reach different conclusions about the effectiveness of Josh Hutcherson as Peeta … In the book, interesting edges rough up his niceness; he’s not quite so easy to peg. But to these eyes, on screen he’s been sanded down to a generic sensitive good guy …“).
Todd McCarthy: The Hunger Games: Film Review.The Hollywood Reporter, 15. März 2012, abgerufen am 5. November 2014 (englisch): „Jennifer Lawrence is stellar in this faithful, good-enough film version of the massive best-seller. … Ross, Collins and third writer Billy Ray have stressed the fascistic political side of the story, pointing up the micromanaged manipulations of the public and the games themselves … As for visual spectacle, there’s enough, but along with it, a feeling of being slightly shortchanged … all are cut a bit short … Most noticeable of all, however, is the film’s lack of hunting instinct. … It’s also clear that the need for a PG-13 rating dictated Moderation … Hunger Games has such a strong narrative structure, built-in forward movement and compelling central character that it can’t go far wrong. … Katniss, embodied by Lawrence just as one might imagine her from the novel … A crucial area in which the film falls far short of the book is the charade aspect … of her “romance” with Peeta. … the gradations of her ambivalence and acceptance are smoothed over to the point of blandness. The survival story retains its vitality, but what lies underneath is stunted. … Lawrence remains compelling all the way … and she holds one’s attention unselfconsciously … Production values are ample if not lavish. The Soundtrack … features an intriguing blend of regional and atmospheric flavors (the end-title tune from Taylor Swift engages on a first listen), though more musical propulsion would have helped juice things up in the late going.“
Manohla Dargis: Tested by a Picturesque Dystopia. In: The New York Times. 23. März 2012, S.C1 (Onlineartikel [abgerufen am 5. November 2014] „Katniss, the lethally tough linchpin from Suzanne Collins’s trilogy and now a rather less imposing film heroine, is a teenage survivalist … Gary Ross, the unlikely and at times frustratingly ill-matched director for this brutal, unnerving Story … has a way of smoothing even modestly irregular edges … It may be that Mr. Ross is too nice a guy for a hard case like Katniss. A brilliant, possibly historic creation — stripped of sentimentality and psychosexual ornamentation, armed with Diana’s bow and a ferocious will — Katniss is a new female warrior, and she keeps you watching … The screenplay by Mr. Ross, Ms. Collins and Billy Ray hews dutifully close to its source material … Ms. Lawrence’s bland Performance … The graver problem is a disengaged performance …“).