Fans everywhere have waited long enough for the 74th annual Hunger Games and they’re finally here! Lovers of Suzanne Collins Hunger Games trilogy of books can see what the futuristic world of Panem is like, as well as seeing their heroin Katniss Everdeen brought to life by the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence and they won’t be disappointed.

The Hunger Games is a book set in a not too distant dystopian future. America is now known as Panem where there are 12 districts all varying in economic wealth and status. Each year The Hunger Games, a glamorous and tragic televised event where two tributes aged between 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random to compete to the death leaving only one victor, is aired in Panem for the viewing pleasure of the more wealthy inhabitants and also to remind any rebellious citizens of the power that Panem has over them.

It’s always a tricky business converting a successful book to the big screen. There’s the pressure to get the cast right, their looks right, keep the story as close to the book as possible and pressure for the film to not suck. The Hunger Games manages to hit the nail on the head without sacrificing much from the book and what they do leave out just makes the film run more smoothly.

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson play Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the District 12 tributes, and they portray the characters exactly like they should be. Katniss is feisty but reserved, Peeta is a bit naive but strong and on screen they gel perfectly.

The district 12 team of Effie, Cinna and Haymitch, don’t stray from the books descriptions for one second. It would have been an unforgivable mistake if Elizabeth Banks had not been chosen to play Effie Trinket, the District 12 escort we all expected: posh, ridiculous and very pink. Cinna is played by Lenny Kravitz, which lends the character the right amount of quiet rockstar-confidence only concerned with making the tributes benefit from his incredible outfits and make up. Then there is Haymitch Abernathy, the drunk but caring mentor, who couldn’t have been played by anyone else but Woody Harrelson (born to play the part of slightly crazed men).

What a lot of fans will be waiting to see in the first part of this stunning trilogy, are the costumes that Cinna put Peeta and Katniss in. In the book they come out on chariots while a fake fire blazes from their heads and costumes, reminding people of their district’s coal mining industry. These costumes give Katniss her nickname ‘the girl on fire’ and dazzle the crowd so much that Katniss and Peeta are all anyone can talk about.

The costumes are as breathtaking as they are in the book, especially the dress designed for Katniss’ first interview. As she twirls her dress ignites it’s both magical and a stunning piece of special effects.

Although the film will surely inspire a lot of Halloween costumes, the one you’ll most likely see emulated this year will be Effie. Her outfits are mad hatter haute couture and each one is as visually captivating as the last, make up included. A new Effie Trinket trend could be on the way. God help us all.

The Hunger Games has been described as the new Twilight, but it is nothing like the shimmery vampire love story. It’s as if Lost and 1984 had a savage baby. There’s an abundance of suspense, action and love, but unlike Twilight, The Hunger Games is a hell of a lot more than just a chick flick and packs one hell of a punch.

It’s one of the most anticipated films of the year and rightly so. It has everything a film needs as well as the promise of two more films to follow that are sure to be as big as this one is. In fact the sequel Catching Fire already has a release date for November 22,2013.

May the odds be ever in your favor and happy Hunger Games!