Love Stephen King's twists and suspensious turns. The character development was terrific as I was rooting for many of them and surprised by their stories. It's amazing how quickly I became numb to the violence and accepted the premise that there would be only one 'winner'.

The writing started out cheesy and predictable (I predicted the death of one of the characters at the beginning of the movie and the big twist shortly after). The General's character didn't sound believable and he made the whole thing sound like a video game cut scene. There were also some unanswered questions such as why didn't they just give the money to the communities if there was so much of it, what was the cause of the war, etc. However, you spend a lot of time getting to know the characters and invest in their journeys. The concept of the movie was also enjoyable.

I read the book a few years ago. Some minor details are different but the context/plot is still the same. I loved the cast, the friendship and the humor. The ending was great as well.

It was a solid movie. Though it left me with questions, as to the ending with silence and no one else around, after the last contestant won the race. There were so many people around, then escalated to no one being there at all. The Sargent was a spineless man!