When we last left Katniss Everdeen and her glorious ponytail, she and her kinda/sorta boyfriend Peeta had just emerged victorious from the 74th Hunger Games by not so subtly defying the all-powerful Capitol. Well, President Snow just won't stand for this treachery and has decided to make Katniss' life as miserable as possible. He starts by paying her a visit in her home district and threatening the lives of her friend and family, including that hunk of a man Gale who secretly steals kisses from Katniss when he thinks no one else is watching. (Tsk, tsk) In order to appease President Snow and convince him that she wants nothing more than to avoid sparking a rebellion that could cost countless lives, Katniss and Peeta embark on the traditional Victors tour, visiting the eleven additional districts to deliver prewritten speeches that expound on the glory of the Capitol. Unfortunately, the Districts are already riled up beyond belief and ready to overthrow the Capitol at a moment's notice. To counter these uprisings, President Snow and his new Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee decide that the 75th Hunger Games will bring together all the surviving victors of the previous Hunger Games, including Katniss and Peeta, and have them battle it out in the arena. To the death. Again.
I'll come clean, folks - I wasn't a huge fan of the book Catching Fire. It presented some interesting ideas and suggested intriguing directions for the story to go in and then promptly pulled an about face and became a retread of the first Hunger Games story. Once again, we had to pay witness to more training, talk show interviews, judge presentations, fashion shows and all the other nonsense that comes with preparations for the Hunger Games. There were little twists to each event that helped keep it fresh, but it wasn't enough to hide the lack of new ideas. I enjoyed the book overall, but couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of underwhelmed-itis, a serious affliction in this day and age.
I went into the film adaptation of Catching Fire expecting to have the same lukewarm reaction, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. Chalk it up to the direction of Francis Lawrence (Water for Elephants; I Am Legend) who, with the aid of an excellent screenplay coined by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionare; 127 Hours) and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine; Toy Story 3), has crafted a suspenseful, emotionally resonant sequel that ups the excitement and drama to even greater heights. Lawrence also eschews the obnoxious shaky-cam format of the previous film, replacing it with a steady hand that allows the excitement to come from the action sequences themselves as opposed to the ADD-ridden camera work. The weaknesses of the book are still present - the lame love triangle; the repetitive nature of the story. But in the wake of such exhilarating moviemaking, these flaws can easily be forgiven.
I've already mentioned that bringing in Lawrence as a director was a great choice, but it would all be for naught if he didn't have a cast as strong as the one here. Easily one of the finest ensembles in big budget filmmaking since Harry Potter, Catching Fire's cast features the likes of Jennifer Lawrence reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen, instilling the character with strong emotion and humanity in addition to being a total badass. Additionally Josh Hutcherson as Peeta is noble and kindhearted as always. And did I mention he's oh so charming? Seriously, how is it even a competition between Peeta and Gale? Peeta's got this thing in the bag. But, speaking of Gale, poor Liam Hemsworth is still stuck on the sidelines as the third part of this lame love triangle. At least he's got a bit more to do this time around than sit and pout while he waits for Katniss to return from battle. Returning cast members Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Donald Sutherland as President Snow and Stanley Tucci as flamboyant talk show host Caesar are all wonderful in their respective roles and new castmates Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Gamemaker Heavensbee, Sam Claflin as the charming Aquaman-esque Finnick and Jena Malone as the ruthless Johanna Mason are welcome additions to the superb cast.
Catching Fire works splendidly for the most part. Its biggest weakness other than the 'been there, done that' vibe may be its ending. Though it stays faithful to the story it's based on, many of my friends who were unfamiliar with the source material felt baffled by the abrupt ending and understandably so. The quality of what precedes it is so strong that it's easy to feel disappointed when it comes to its inevitable sequel teasing cliffhanger ending. Either way, despite my general dislike of the final book in the series, I'm excited for the film iterations of Mockingjay. I'm annoyed that it's being split into two films instead of standing strong as a single entry, but I have faith in this cast and crew. We're halfway there and they have yet to let me down.
CONCLUSION: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is one of the most exciting and enjoyable films of the year. It's emotionally sound and relentlessly entertaining. Keep your fingers crossed that the final chapters follow suit.
FINAL RATING: 4/5
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