The acting was superb. After reading the books (I devoured them in a week) I felt the tension Katniss was feeling up to the start of the games, the desperation and the horror that 24 kids were about to try to murder each other. While there was a slight romantic aspect depicted, Gary Ross did an excellent job of conveying Katniss' reluctance with Peeta. I can't wait for the next two movies, while Twilight was vapid, this was energetic, had real depth, and engaging.