Lots of special effects, lots of really stupid hairdos, but little to no substance.

Rating: 5/10 (5 August 2012)

Well, they tried.
Tried to make a movie about something other than explosions, vampires, and Adam Sandler, but they only succeeded in making a dreary, slow, self-important attempt at social commentary.
The hairdos and costumes just aren't enough to carry the whole movie, sorry. I think the movie really tries to be something way more than it is. In the end, it's a story that could be told in 10 or 15 minutes. The future is totally effed up, people are decadent and soulless beyond belief and so we've turned back the clock to the Roman Coliseum for our inspiration for entertainment and social control. It just strains credulity to the breaking point to believe that people would actually act in the manner that they do in the show.
Why would the participants form alliances? Why wouldn't they try to escape? Why wouldn't the populace rebel more than they do? And why would the supposed "games" take as much time as they do? I've got a hunch that in the real world such games would be over in a matter of minutes. But none of that is explored at all. It's just a contrived bit of dark, dreary, fluff with a monumental amount of special effects.
A little more thought and a lot less glitz would've been a much better show, but then, I'm sure I'm not the demographic this was aimed at.