The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Toby Jones, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, Sam Claflin
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) become targets by the Capitol after their act of defiance sparks an uprising in the Districts.

Review:

Tim: I really enjoyed both the "Hunger Games" books and the first movie. While the first film was a faithful adaptation and certainly a solid film through and through, the movie might not have been quite on the level of greatness some had hoped. Still, it was a very good movie and it's no surprise that it did so well at the box office. I was interested in seeing how the second film would continue the story (which I already knew from the books). With a bigger budget, would the sequel follow the typical sequel route? Luckily, this film is every bit as good as the first movie. That's an accomplishment. I enjoyed this film.

This movie does a good job of continuing the story from the first film, while also being a fairly faithful adaptation of the book. The story is exciting and engaging. After the events of the first film, it was interesting to see where this one would go. I liked the shift of focus to the political arena and how the events of the last Hunger Games impacted this small, budding uprising. That was very interesting to see. However, I was most excited about the Quarter Quell and the next Hunger Games. This was a brilliantly clever direction to take the story and I loved the idea of a Hunger Games comprised of all past winners. What an interesting concept. This was such a terrific way to revisit the games, but to do so in a way that kept the idea fresh. The scenes of the Games were thrilling and exciting, even for someone who had read the books and knew how it all ended up.

This film needed the bigger budget to bring these Games to life. The depiction of the arena is pretty impressive, with the clock structure, the monkeys, the lightning, waves, fog, etc. This movie features so many memorable visual moments and they all make the transition from the book to the screen flawlessly. This film was interesting from start to finish. As an added bonus, there wasn't any of that shakycam that ruined the beginning of the first film.

The cast is once again excellent. Jennifer Lawrence makes such a good action heroine. While her acting ability far exceeds what she gets to do here, she's enjoyable on screen. She really is Katniss Everdeen. Josh Hutcherson is enjoyable as Peeta. He doesn't give the most dynamic performance, but he works well in the role. I loved seeing Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks reprise their roles. Donald Sutherland is enjoyable as the villainous President Snow. Sam Claflin was a great choice to bring Finnick to life. I also enjoyed Jena Malone as Johanna, although I wish she had more screen time. Jeffrey Wright is always a terrific addition to any cast and I liked his oddball role here. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was also very well cast as Plutarch. Overall, the large cast is pretty incredible. They made a lot of great choices in assembling these actors together. This represents one of the biggest strengths of the film.

In some ways, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire had a difficult job. You could argue that this is a bridge movie, really just spanning the gap to the third film. Even though the film doesn't have a very satisfying ending (the cliffhanger is cool, though), it never feels like a worthless endeavor. It still stands upon its own two feet. That is an accomplishment. I very much enjoyed this film. While I'm less excited about the final two movies (I didn't like "Mockingjay" very much), this movie is every bit as good as the first film. This solidifies this franchise as a truly worthy one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Hunger Games