Film Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Director: Francis Lawrence

The second installment of the franchise based on the novels by Suzanne Collins sees the return of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, dealing with the fallout from the ending of the first film and her victory in the arena. Once again it broke records upon release with box office sales higher than the previous film and it was 6th on the all-time list for highest box office takings on opening weekend. In addition to the return cast there were roles for Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meta Golding and Jena Malone amongst others.

Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) salute the crowd in District 12

Following on from the first film, Katniss now lives in the Victors Village in District 12 with the rest of the world believing that she is deeply in love with Peeta. Before her victory tour around the districts she is visited by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) who says he must convince him that she is very much in love to help quell the possible riots in the districts against the Capitol. With the districts starting to show hope of a rebellion, President Snow with Gamesmaster Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) decide to crush Katniss in the hope of killing off the spirit of hope in the districts by having a special Hunger Games for the 75th anniversary.

A thoroughly engrossing and thrilling film that despite its relatively long running time, 146mins, manages to completely hold your attention right through to the dramatic ending. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent again in the lead role, the beacon of hope for the impoverished districts whilst Woody Harrelson is even better than before as the alcoholic but canny Haymitch who helps Katniss. Josh Hutcherson's performance as Peeta still leaves something to be desired, he just isn't convincing as the true hero behind Katniss whilst Liam Hemsworth as Gale is cast aside.

The tributes for the 75th Quarter Quell

Having read the books, a major part of the second book was how the film would go about presenting the arena for the 75th Hunger Games. The circular arena is well rendered and stays true to the original text that portrays the arena in very descriptive terms, you can certainly tell that the budget has been upped for this installment and put to good use. The conflicting feelings of Katniss towards not just Peeta and Gale but her role as the mockingjay which is sparking the rebellion is firmly believable, it ponders the question that not every hero is totally assured of themselves and what they are doing at all times. It means Katniss is much realistic as a person rather than a demi-god like other protagonists in similar films.

The film does grind to a bit of a halt during the early part of the film in District 12 and again in the arena which is something a lot of critics picked up on but its a small complaint when the rest of the ensemble is so impressive. The decision to split the final book into two films to finish off the series can't really be debated until we have seen the end product but the second film does a great job of building the excitement to a fascinating finale.

3.5/4 Excellent return to the Hunger Games sets up the final book perfectly