Catching Fire picks up where the Hunger Games left off. Katniss and Peeta won the game and they are going on their celebratory victory tour to all the districts. But President Snow is not pleased with this at all. He sees Katniss as a beacon of hope for the districts and believes she could be the spark for a revolution. So he and the new game maker played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman conspire to throw her back into the arena in the next Hunger Games.
I was curious at what they could with the second film because I thought the first film was alright, but it didn't leave me wanting more. That is the exact opposite with this film.
This took me completely by surprise. I never thought I would become so enthralled in the sequel to a film that I thought was pretty overrated. All of the issues I had with the first film were removed and replaced with greatness.
For starters, with Gary Ross out of the directors chair, the shaky cinematography was nowhere to be found! Even if you loved the first film you have to admit that the camerawork was appallingly bad. Luckily with Francis Lawrence at the helm the film looked crystal clear. From the camera work alone it makes sense why they signed him on for Mockingjay.
The first half of the film, like the first one, is all build-up to the games. While the first half of the first film is pre-game events like training and interviews, this time we get insight into The Capital and their politics. That to me, was the most interesting part of the movie. I really liked the addition of Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the new game maker.
Another issue I had with the first film was Peeta. His performance to me felt the weakest and most wooden and I didn't buy his relationship with Katniss. Luckily here their relationship wasn't just believable but I feel as if they actually did like each other even though their relationship is just an act. A new character named Finnick is introduced and with him a love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Finnick is formed. Actually make it a love quadrangle when you throw Gale into the mix. Ugh, romance gets so confusing.
With this being the second film in the franchise the characters become more developed which allows
the audience to get invested in them. And that is precisely what happened to me. Their acting improved and you could really see the struggles they were facing in their performances. Especially in Haymitch and Effie.
The tributes in this film were past winners and the ones that Katniss, Peeta and Finnick teamed up with were really cool. They had cool personalities and they grew on me after a while. I liked Jeffery Wright as Beetie. But when I saw him on screen I saw Tobias from Arrested Development. The resemblance really was uncanny!
As for the action, aside from the lack of shaky camera, the visual effects are improved upon and the finale just about blew me away. I had only read the first book so I didn't know what was going to happen and it was unbelievable.
Final Report: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire might be targeted to teenagers as an action thriller
romance, when in reality it is a top notch political thriller that is carried by strong performances and an even stronger script.
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