Unoriginal

Rating: 1/10 (1 March 2013)

Blame Twilight! Ever since Twilight came out, all these teen flicks have been a variation of Twilight. Hunger Games is no different, it's just Twilight with teenagers trying to kill each other, oh wait, it IS Twilight, minus werewolves and vampires. The cheesy predictability associated with these teen flicks is in check; in a dystopian future, annually a bunch of teens are pitted against each other in the titular event until only one of them is left standing, all in the name of entertainment. Hunger Games thinks it's smart and different, but I couldn't help thinking I've seen it all before, with young Japanese actors and actresses. Oh yes, I have! 2000's Battle Royale starring Takeshi 'Beat' Kitano. Royale did it way better though: the concept is more credible and in a way, more scary - the youth of Japan are out of control, so a program is introduced to discipline/punish (delete as appropriate) them; the youths are selected by high school class, they are sent to an undisclosed island where they are to kill each other until one is left. The catch? They're wearing explosive collars, any tampering with them will blow their heads off. Now, that's a much more effective concept! For Hunger Games the final nail in the coffin is when Woody Harrelson's Haymitch convinces Wes Bentley's character to give the rioting public something to root for - "young love"! I literally cringed and almost gagged when I saw that scene! Avoid, avoid, avoid! Watch Battle Royale instead, you'll be grateful that you did.