The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Movie Review

 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Movie Review

by Brian Wezowicz

Quality sequels are hard to pull off.  Making a sequel that is better than the first is even harder.  There's only a few of them that come to mind (T2: Judgment Day, The Dark Knight, Empire Strikes Back, Speed 2: Cruise Control... kidding).  The general idea is to set up the world and characters in the first film, while creating a rich story without relying on a ton of special effects.  Truly great "first" movies do just that.  The original The Hunger Games movie worked because they did everything right.  They didn't stray too far from the source material.  They had great characters played by quality actors.  They didn't overkill it with special effects.  Everything came together and the results were astronomical: over $400 million earned at the US box office.  The problem with a lot of franchises is that studios take away everything that worked in the first movie and just blow up a ton of stuff with overbearing special effects (See Iron Man 2).  It has to be bigger than the first one in every way possible.  My question is why do studios almost always forget about the script when it comes to sequels?  I guess that once they establish a fan base, they figure people will show up no matter what.

This was my fear going into The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Initial reports were that because of the success of the first film, they were rushing this movie into the theater as well as splitting the final movie into two parts (thanks Twilight!).  Gary Ross, the director of the first film, dropped out in preproduction citing his need for more time developing the script.  I just hoped that they wouldn't forget what made the first film great for the sake of a quick buck.  Also, another thing this movie had going against it was that it's a middle film.  Middle films usually only serve a purpose of setting up the third and final one.  They just have to get you from point A to point C.  They just have to set up the chess pieces to make the final assault on the board, and because of that, middle films can struggle.  But, occasionally, they can truly shine.  For this film, the producers brought in Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) to direct, and I have to tell you he did a hell of a job bringing Susanne Collins' vision to life.  Everything about this movie was bigger and better (in a good way) than the first film.  The script was phenomenal, the acting was sublime, and the special effects were excellent while not being overpowering.  This is a must-watch sequel, joining the ranks of Empire and The Dark Knight as truly exceptional "second" films.  It held my attention from the beginning all the way to the ferocious final moments.  It can stand on its own two feet and be proud of what it accomplished.

The last time we saw our star-crossed lovers (if by star-crossed, I mean two teenagers, who because of a sinister government hell bent on reminding its citizens to never rise up against it again, must compete in a fight to the death aired on national television until there can only be one winner, then yes I do) Katniss (Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (the kid from Bridge to Terabithia), they were getting the upper hand on the Capitol of Panem and its sinister President Snow (Donald Sutherland in the role he was born to play) by finding a loophole in the 74th Annual Hunger Games.  They found a way share the victory.  Needless to say, this act of defiance royally pisses El Presidente off to the point of him killing his head game maker (thanks to a poison berry smoothie) and making our winners lives a living hell.  Catching Fire begins with Snow threatening Katniss to sell her hopeless romance with Peeta to the public because the districts of Panem are starting to believe they can rise up again.  They have become a symbol of hope.  President Snow sends them on a national misery tour of the districts with a message of unity.  You really get a sense of the pain that these characters must go through and that "winning" the Hunger Games doesn't really mean so much.  They have to look into the eyes of the families of the deceased tributes (the name for the other competitiors in the games) and talk about how great the Capitol is.  Yikes!  Talk about something I couldn't do.  As the tour goes on, coupled with the fact that they have to pretend to be in love, Katniss and Peeta become more and more miserable.  They know their every move is being watched and any slip up will cause the President to send in Peacekeepers (Stormtrooper like figures) to beat their districts into submission.

Another wrinkle in the story is that President Snow knows he can't simply kill Katniss because she has become a symbol of strength and power over the Capitol.  He must devise a way to kill her without getting his hands totally dirty.  Well, luckily, it's the 75th Hunger Games and they can do anything they want.  Snow and new game maker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman in a role that's a tad beneath him, but whatever) devise an all-star contest composed of former Hunger Games' winners.  The Games' arena, which is divided up into twelve quadrants, each with a different method of death or torture, is truly sinister.  Once the Games begin, Katniss quickly notices that something is different.  She seems to have allies, but she's not sure why or how.

I won't ruin the ending for you, but I will say that the final third of this movie is truly exceptional.  You feel like you are there competing in the games with these combatants.  There is the right blend of special effects and real world scenery to give it a true-life feel.  It perfectly sets up the final movies (I'm considering them as one movie split in half) while having enough in it to feel like its own story.

I'm giving this movie 3.5/4 stars.  I'm docking it a little for the lame three way love story between Katniss, Gale (her District 12 love) and Peeta.  I hated it in the books and I hate it in the movies.  I'm also docking this movie a little bit because Jennifer Lawrence seems like she's going through the motions in the first few scenes.  I guess winning an Oscar and being forced to return to a studio franchise will do that to you.  However, she does kick it into gear shortly after these first few scenes and kicks ass for the remaining two hours of the movie.  I also didn't really like the actor who played the mysterious Finnick Odair, Katniss and Peeta's closest ally in the Games.  He just seemed to be overdoing his lines just a little bit too much.

Definitely see this movie in the theater, although hopefully not in a theater full of chatty teenaged girls.  Really, girl behind me... You have to analyze every scene with your group of friends?  It's sooo important to your movie going experience?  And be sure to laugh at every serious scene.  That makes you seem so cool and better than the rest of us!