The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Movie Review

Katniss Everdeen has sparked a revolution. By tricking the system into saving both her and Peeta Mellark in the previous Hunger Games, she has created the one thing President and the Capitol fear the most: Hope. The Districts of Panem are beginning to believe they have the power to control their own lives, to dictate their own future, to rise up together.

In order to stomp this building rebellion into oblivion, President Snow orders the 75^th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) to modify the rules and showcase existing winners instead of new recruits. An assortment of the most lethal killers from all previous Hunger Games, and this time tricks will be disallowed. The main focus of all of this, of course, is to kill Katniss in a way that illustrates to all of Panem that the Capitol is always in control. Hope be damned.

Jennifer Lawrence simply IS Katniss Everdeen. This series, more than most, has the extreme potential to fall into cheesy over-emoting or political grandstanding and yet its leading huntress continues to ground the franchise with a performance brimming with substance. Lawrence’s Katniss holds deep remorse for the lives lost in the Hunger Games, as well as for the revolt she has unwittingly caused, and not a moment goes lost in the film as Lawrence’s face carries the full weight of her burdens.

Throughout Catching Fire, Lawrence never plays Katniss as the leader she is obviously meant to become, she plays her as an evolving character. One initially fearful of the Capitol’s vengeful eye, frightened to rebel against any of their wishes, only to come to grips with the full scope of what she has started and who she truly is in the film’s closing seconds. It is refreshing to see a franchise trust their lead enough to showcase so much through subtle emoting versus the usual overdramatic posing franchises are usually treated to.

Of course your favorites return: Woody Harrelson as perpetually drunk Haymitch carries the lion’s share of the film’s laughs; Elizabeth Banks is allowed to infuse Effie with more heart and less flamboyance this time around and helps to elevate her character; Liam Hemsworth and Lenny Kravitz once again charm you just enough to make you wish the film needed them just a little bit longer.

As the viciously minded newly instated game-maker Plutarch Heavensbee, Philip Seymour Hoffman once again shows why he is the go-to actor for resolved despicableness. His scenes with Donald Sutherland’s slithering President Snow as they plot Katniss’ demise are the epitome of how we fear our own government conducts business behind the scenes. A scary pair indeed.

The biggest surprise? Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta.  His performance was a major hindrance for me with the original film, but apparently Josh took his criticisms to heart, and more than a few acting lessons, because here he brings Peeta to life. In Catching Fire, you HAVE to believe in Peeta, it is integral to Katniss’ plight and the plot itself. Hutcherson showcases the talent necessary more me to finally be able to root for the formerly annoyingly sappy character.

Wow, what a difference a director makes.  Gary Ross did a fine job with the dramatic center of the previous film, but just did not have a solid eye for action. All quick cuts and shaky cam, Ross found every way possible to make action scenes frustratingly boring.

Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend), on the other hand, this guy has both down. He handles the dramatic overtones with a deft hand, and the action is actually understandable and suspenseful. There is not a frame that had me reaching for Dramamine and the film succeeds because of it. We are treated to a horrific baboon attack that will have you gripping your seat, tumultuous weather, and he even manages to create a panic from nothing more than a developing fog. Apparently to steer The Hunger Games franchise in the right direction, all you need are people named Lawrence in the driver seats.

My only complaint with the film, and it is a minor one, is that for a period of time the film does feel a bit like a quasi-remake of the original, and that did take me out of the experience a time of two. By the closing moments though, that feeling fully evaporated and I now cannot wait to see where the next installment will take us.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a worthy successor to the mega-successful original and more than lives up to the sky-high hype. Stronger direction, better performances and a story that actually feels like it is headed somewhere special.

If $10 is the full price of admission, Catching Fire is worth $8.50

 

Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider
www.TheHollywoodOutsider.com