“The Hunger Games” opened this past weekend, setting box office records with a domestic gross of $155 million.

I’ve read all the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” books, watched both series play out on the big screen and so of course I had to jump on “The Hunger Games” bandwagon.

I dragged my husband to the theater this past weekend to experience this new fan favorite and we were both pleasantly surprised.

The story is set in a dystopian future where the United States has fallen and the country “Panem” has risen from the ashes. Panem is divided up by the rich Capitol and the increasingly poorer Districts.

Every year, each of the 12 Districts much offer two children between the ages of 12 and 18 years old, one boy and one girl, as tribute to The Hunger Games. The children fight to the death in an arena designed by the “Gamemakers” and televised for all of Panem. The winner brings back glory, food and money to their home district.

The heroine, Katniss Everdeen (an amazing performance by Jennifer Lawrence), is a tribute from District 12, the poorest district of all. Her kid sister, Primrose (Willow Shields), is selected and Katniss volunteers to take her place. Her male counterpart is Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), whom she is quite fond of, and Katniss struggles with the idea of having to kill him in the arena.

I won’t divulge into what happens once the games begin, but if you liked the book you’ll probably like the movie. Director Gary Ross was very careful to follow the book, taking very few liberties.

Solid performances were put in by Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch and Amandla Stenberg as Rue.

The scenery was outstanding. District 12 was illustrated better than my imagination could produce; the suffering of these fictional citizens was actually palpable. The rich Capitol citizens were dressed in flamboyant costumes that were both amusing and disgusting.

What I enjoyed most was how the narration was handled. The book is told from Katniss’ perspective, and so the reader learns important details through her thoughts.

The movie tackles this by adding something new: commentary from the Capitol. Viewers are able to learn about what’s happening and why, through comments by the games’ host.

My husband has not read the books, but he easily followed the plot of the movie and enjoyed it. I only had to whisper a few explanations to him, but that’s mostly because I can’t help doing that.

Missing were the tumultuous feelings Katniss constantly had to deal with in the novel. Lawrence did as best she could with communicating the feelings of the character, but that can only go so far.

Katniss has a difficult time deciphering her feelings for Peeta and how much she can trust him, something that is evident in the movie but lacks the depth and impact of the novel.

Overall, I highly recommend seeing this movie. It’s entertaining and full of action while also connecting the characters with the audience.