Two killers against one — not exactly the fairest of odds, no, but it certainly sets the stage for one of the coolest fights we've seen on screen all year long.
It's only fitting, then, that "The Hunger Games" took home Best Fight at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards Sunday night (June 3), gifting both Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson with their second Golden Popcorn statuettes of the night, and bad boy Alexander Ludwig with his first.
The award was presented by "Prometheus" co-stars Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, who thought his Irish heritage and famous and much-discussed manliness meant he could handle the duties himself.
"I was thinking since I'm Irish, I would just handle this one," Fassbender rationalized. "Yeah, you know, fighting Irish and all that. And considering you're a girl and all that."
Unfortunately for Fassbender, Theron wasn't having it, and decided to show him exactly how tough even the most glamorous girl can be. The poor guy didn't get past "And the nominees are" before she'd knocked him to the floor with just a handful of swift (mock) blows. For his part, Fassbender played the part of the victim well, writhing on the floor in faux pain before working his way back on his feet.
Just as the "Twilight" films have dominated the Best Kiss category over the past several Movie Awards shows, so too is "Hunger Games" poised to own the Best Fight arena in the years to come. After all, these movies are about unwitting contestants battling to the death — every film from "Catching Fire" to the two-part "Mockingjay" will feature scenes of brutal violence, with lead actors Lawrence and Hutcherson often on the front lines of the action.
"Wow, this is really cool," Hutcherson, who also scored the prize for Best Male Performance, told the audience. "I've always loved doing stunt work [and] producers have always hated me for that because they've never want me to do it."
Hutcherson and Ludwig's fellow Best Fight winner, Best Female Performance winner Jennifer Lawrence, was unable to make it to the awards because she is in Prague filming "Serena."
"We were filming 'til like six in the morning that night so it was an amazing experience," Ludwig added before thanking "Hunger Games" fans for all their support.
Of course, you won't see Ludwig in any future "Hunger Games" fights — his character, the cruel and cunning Cato, was the ill-fated loser of the Movie Awards-winning fight. But District 2 supporters, never fear: You'll get to see the man who plays Cato again very soon when he makes an unlikely "Twilight" crossover with Taylor Lautner in next year's "Grown Ups 2." Who knows? Perhaps that mash-up could be eligible for Best Fight in a couple of years!