7. The Tributes Team Up
Because there are Career Tributes, and all of the players are Victors, the stakes are higher, so Katniss and Peeta are encouraged to make allies. Katniss foolishly defies the instruction, but Peeta works behind her back to build relationships with Capitol favourite Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin who has the same rubbery lips as Matthew Lillard) and his mentor Mags, as well as fiery Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) and geek duo Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and Wiress (Pulp Fiction's Amanda Plummer.) Mags and Wiress are both killed, but everyone else is too much of a big name to be killed, despite their injuries, and as much is confirmed by the end of the film. Naturally, there's also a whole band of tributes who don't matter at all - like the Hunger Games' equivalent of Star Trek's red shirts, only without as much on-screen time, and their deaths are neither shown nor of any particular relevance, which is somewhat damaging to the film's agenda to depict the outrageous consumerist attitude towards death. One of the tributes is given an odd presentation, which feels like an attempt to add personality to the cannon fodder: Haymitch introduces him to Katniss and he kisses her on the lips, laughing apparently innocently, as Haymitch pretty much covers for him, while suggesting he's both an alcoholic and a pervert. It's a throw-away moment that has absolutely no relevance to the rest of the film, and it sticks out like a sore thumb.