This is the first moment I've had to continue this conversation, Neo, since yesterday.

First I have not read the book or any of the books so my comments are based on the movie only.

I agree that the justification for the games was not well developed. And I scratched my head on several things we were to take on faith. But in the end, I considered it a sci-fi movie and took the premise for the games at face value. I don't think as much as you do.

In my experience this was a scary centrally controlled government event with central surveillance and standardized rules for the all the participants---'tributes'.

All 24 contestants were to live and die by the State's rules. And so it was every tribute lived and died by these top down rules...that is until the game had eliminated everyone but Katniss and Peeta who had become allies and friends.

It was at this point---where they were down to the undeniable reality that one of them would die next---that Katniss and Peeta decided suddenly to dispense with the state's mandate and finish by making up their own rules--they would both die together rather than being pitted against each other and fighting to the death.

By abandoning the State's rules and making up their own, a revolution was set in motion and neither of them met their demise. This had never happened in the history of the games.

While I have no idea what the next two episodes will be, I have a feeling that this revolution these two unwittingly set in motion will indeed gain steam and momentum in the coming sequels.

So to me, this is a movie, however ill-conceived, about the masses playing a game by the rules given them, until someone says enough! and makes up new rules no matter what the consequence.

And don't all revolutions start that way? Did the Boston Tea party tributes decide they would no longer play by ing George's rules? Didn't that also happen in Poland? And on and on.

Revolutions start when someone says 'No more!' And they do it their way, no matter what the consequences.

It will be interesting to me to see if and how this revolution Katniss and Peeta started will proceed. But proceed I'm willing to bet it will!