The Hunger Games is a Ripoff of The Condemned

I bet you haven't heard that one yet.  Probably thought I was going to say "Battle Royale" like everybody else.

But obviously, "The Hunger Games" is inspired by the 2007 classic "The Condemned."

The movie features Stone Cold Steve Austin as a prisoner awaiting the death penalty in a corrupt Central American country until he's purchased by a wealthy reality TV producer  and forced to participate in a televised fight to the death against nine other convicted killers for a chance at freedom.

Spoiler alert,  Austin wins.  I know it seems so improbable now, but he does.

Clearly the author of "The Hunger Games," Suzanne Collins ignored the film's 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and viewed this film.

Then she realized it was such a masterpiece that she had to write a young adult version of "The Condemned."  It's the most logical explanation.

Let's face it, Katniss Everdeen is really just the female version of Austin's character.

I'm not sure Jennifer Lawrence can compete with the performance of Austin though.  Anybody who thought he couldn't carry a movie was dead wrong.  Sure Austin can, just not a good movie.

He really shines in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the movie where inexplicably there's not a a single word of dialogue.  I guess there's only so many witty quips you can fit in a 113 minute movie.

Hey wait a minute,  I think "The Artist" must have ripped off "The Condemned" too.