Francis Lawrence kills our expectations for a less-than-brilliant experience and gives his audience something in which to fully engage ourselves. If you weren’t overly fond of ‘The Hunger Games’, you will definitely enjoy ‘Catching Fire’.
After District Twelve’s victory in the Hunger Games, the citizens of Panem have taken matters into their own hands against the Capitol. In an attempt to distract Panem back into peace, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) introduces the Quarter Quell, where special challenges are issued every 25 years. In ‘Catching Fire’, Panem has reached its 75th year of the Hunger Games and, as a result, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) must enter the arena once again against past victors.
The direction in the second installment of the Hunger Games franchise is heavily felt. Francis Lawrence keeps everything that happens focused towards the film’s main objective: keeping all of Panem distracted from the real issues. ‘Catching Fire’ is more action-packed with new characters (i.e., other victors and a new gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman), and a little more character development in our main characters (i.e., the effects of the Hunger Games on Katniss, Effie (Elizabeth Banks) becoming more susceptible to the Capitol’s treatment of people, etc.). While keeping to its dystopian nature, ‘Catching Fire’ has more laughs mainly involving new characters Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), Johanna (Jena Malone), and Wiress (Amanda Plummer) as well as Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Nevertheless, the film isn’t without its grim and very emotional moments. After winning the previous games, Katniss and Peeta are required to travel to each district for what is known as a victory tour to pay tribute to each of the now deceased contestants, their families, and to, without question, the Capitol. The first stop is to District 11 where they speak about Rue and Thresh. As a fair warning, you may need to have your tissues close by. It’s not only in this scene where we see Katniss reveal how’s she felt ever since Rue’s death, but (as seen in the trailers), it is where we get a closer look at the state of social unrest that Panem is in. As we get closer to the actual games, the violence and unrest gets more intense than the last. It’s also this scene that catapults the parallels with our own media and our attitudes towards fame and fortune. It resonates in the speeches that are given by our District 12 victors as well as in sessions with Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). Screenwriters Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt subtly slip in issues regarding how certain details are spun and differences in reactions from the citizens of the Capitol and the citizens in all other districts. It plays very well into the script as well as with the very themes expressed by Suzanne Collins in the books.
As far as keeping true to the events in the book, fans will be delighted to see many things – particularly pertaining to what happens inside of the arena—onscreen. However, ‘Catching Fire’, runs into the same issue that many book-to-film adaptations do: omit scenes that might have properly (and more thoroughly) explained a few things characters say or events that happen for non-readers (i.e. District 13’s existence/non-existence, the love triangle that isn’t a love triangle, etc.). Beaufoy and Arndt, on the other hand, have crafted a very solid script with only these flaws. Lawrence’s direction is a noteworthy improvement on the franchise (destroying stereotypes usually synced with sequels) and there’s a lot more going on in ‘Catching Fire’ with a plot unafraid to tackle relevant issues, mess with our main characters’ minds if only for a little while, and feature a very damaged Katniss in an excellent performance as expected from Jennifer Lawrence. With Mockingjay, the final installment in The Hunger Games, splitting into two feature films—with the first part due in November 2014—you may want to brush up on some reading to prepare yourself for what’s to come, especially with Francis Lawrence, a director that has proven himself more than capable of giving us a proper close to this series, at the helm.
Jim’s Rating: 8/10