
Grounded very much in the gladiatorial tradition, The Hunger Games makes a barbaric reality show out of its vulnerable contestants among whom only one gets to walk out free and alive. It plays out, not for the amusement of its game-makers, but for what the prologue suggests to be for reasons of honour, courage and sacrifice. "This is how we remember the past. This is how we safeguard our future," a voice booms, as teenagers line up from district 12 of Panem for the Annual Hunger Games. A male and female each will be chosen from an unlucky lot and sent as a 'tribute' to a forest where they would be joined by other such 'tributes' in a fight-to-finish combat ( a la The Condemned). Their fate is in the hands of a tyrannical regime which has set up this game to punish the citizenry of their resistance attempts of the past.
When Prim Everdeen's name is announced as a 'tribute', her elder sister, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to go in her place. Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who has had a crush on Katniss and has secretly followed her in the district, accompanies her on the mission. In a Bigg Boss-like introduction ceremony, Katniss and Peeta are given a rousing welcome as their chariot blazes down, instantly making her a crowd favourite. Before the contestants are turned loose in the forest, which is under 24/7
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