Running Man/LOTR meets every "last man standing" movie

Rating: 3/10 (31 March 2012)

First off, didn't read the books..get that out of the way. But my 11 y/o son did. I'll just mention that he said they missed a lot of important parts about the storyline.
There is very little character build-up. You just kind of have to guess what is going on with these characters. There are 24 selected combatants who are give about two weeks to prepare. First off, it's insane to think a 12 y/o girl can compete against an 18 y/o (professionally trained) man. However, that seems fair to this "advanced" government. So, after 2 weeks of preparation, their plans are to die instantly or run away. There are few battles and you get just a countdown of everyone dying off in the distance somewhere. There's a gang of 5 or 6 that KNOW only one can survive, but no one back-stabs (literally) anyone. The rules change and are very predictable. Somehow, without explanation, the controllers of the game can make fire bombs appear or mutant dogs, but for some reason "sponsors" can help. Why do they need help when there's 10000 lbs of supplies at the start? It's really annoying to watch..I can't imagine reading the books without being annoyed as well. I give it a 3/10 to my son's dismay.