I'm glad not to see complaints that Hunger Games was just ripping off Battle Royale. :P Considering both are different versions of the Roman Colosseum. With some reality T.V. thrown in Hunger Games on top.

I like both movies; they've got different strengths. Hunger Games isn't a realistic setting - I don't see how it'd happen anywhere in modern Earth - but it goes for a lot more believable reasons and detailed background/politics than Battle Royale. The Hunger Games do exactly what the Roman Colosseum did. It acts as morbid entertainment and crowd control simultaneously, to keep all the unhappy unwashed masses tame and maintain the status quo. What I do know from the films and books are pretty clever, particularly for a teen series, which usually assume the audience is brain dead.

Also, the way it plays with reality T.V., also done before, is neat.