Ok, who, here actually thinks this movie was worth more than the bargain $0.99 used DVD bin? After watching this steaming pile of dung I came away with the inescapable conclusion that today's teenagers don't know squat about good movies or plotlines that you can't drive a semi through.
First, the characters are two dimensional at best. Catnip or whatever she calls herself is the healthiest looking starving Appalachian teenager in a future society you could ever imagine. However, beyond a vaunted abilty to "shoot a squirrel through its' eye" her only talent is looking disgruntled. Her mentor, Woody Harrelson isn't much better. As a former Hunger Games winner he offers little help beyond the marginally helpful tip to turn and run at the starting gun of the Games. He gives no clues as to how to win, where to hide, what techniques she should use to slay her opponents, or even what the rules are-- which incidentally, change at a moment's notice.
And this is a major issue: the people running the game arbitrarily change the rules to steer the contestants toward a desired goal, notably out loud to what I would imagine would be the audience's consternation. First it's a single winner only game. Then it changes to a team-can-win format. Then it changes back to a single winner rule.
Next, her fellow District contestant who ostensibly is on her side, but has an opportunity to kill all the kids who have grouped together while they are sleeping, but fails to do so. Several times.
Catnip has a bow but fails to use it's range to subdue her foes. As it turns out, happenstance kills her opponents for her. She was doomed to lose except chance got in the way and offed the other District's kids instead.
She has no sense of tactics. She moves around when she should be hiding, gets treed, makes tone of noise, builds fires, and is largely is asking to get killed. She wears orange stripes, uses no camoflauge, and uses a bright silver bow and arrows.
Finally, in the future everybody looks like Cyndi Lauper. They wear gaudy makeup, weird costumes, and appear to have turned gay en masse.
The movie sucked a$$.
Oh yeah, at the end she threatens to eat poisonous berries and bluffs the gamemasters into making her the victor. Only as the way the game is played it makes no sense why they didn't just let her kill herself-- that was what the president wanted all along, but no, she survives to star in yet another horrible movie.
Did I mention the moviue sucked a$$?
Totem