You don’t win the Hunger Games… you survive them.
The H-Bomb: After emerging as the victor of last year’s “Hunger Games,” Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) wants nothing more than to return to District 12 to live in peace with her almost boyfriend, Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Before she can do that, however, she has to fulfill her obligations as a victor by embarking on a Victory Tour through the other districts of Panem (the dystopian nation where North America once stood) with her fellow victor, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Since they essentially beat the system in order to survive the games together, they have raised the ire of Panem’s slightly fascist President, Snow (Donald Sutherland).
However, as peeved as Snow might be, he is unable to take any overt action against Katniss and Peeta because, well, the people love them. They adore them, idolize them. They are the celebrity couple of the year, Panem’s Sweethearts, even though their romance is a complete fabrication. But there’s something happening with Peeta and Katniss that goes beyond simple celebrity worship, they’ve inspired something in the people. Katniss has shown them that they can stand up to the system, they can change things, and now the winds of rebellion are in the air.
Snow knows this, and he knows that imposing martial law in the districts will not in and of itself stop the uprising. He has to destroy Katniss and Peeta. Destroy them, and what they stand for. So, Snow, along with his new game master, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), devises something special for the 75th Annual Hunger Games; The Quarter Quell, in which the games’ tributes will be made up entirely of past winners from each of the districts.
Naturally, Katniss and Peeta are selected, and this time will be forced to square off not against scared children, but fellow victors who are battle hardened and know how to fight. Their very formidable opponents will include the egghead, Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), the brash, cocky Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin), and the ax-wielding she-bitch, Johanna Mason (Jena Malone), who has a knack for making a memorable entrance. Katniss and Peeta may think that they are, once again, in for the fight of their lives, but the truth is, they don’t even know the half of it. There’s something happening here that goes far beyond than the two of them, or the games, something that could change Panem forever.
Those of you who have read The Hunger Games books probably know what I’m getting at in that last sentence. Those of you who haven’t will just have to see the movie and find out for yourselves. As for myself, I’m glad that I haven’t read the books, because part of what made The Hunger Games: Catching Fire such a compelling watch was that, for me, it was consistently surprising and unpredictable, particularly once the games themselves finally got underway.
Adapted from the second book in Suzanne Collins’ young adult series, I found Catching Fire to be a considerable improvement over the first Hunger Games film. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a hater of the original, I thought it was all right, I just didn’t go gaga over it the way the rest of the planet seemed to. I thought that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson were a tad dull and lacked chemistry, Gary Ross’s shaky cam direction almost gave me seizures, and, I know I’m not the first to bring this up, the whole thing felt like a half-baked, watered down Battle Royale knock-off.
While I’m still not a Hunger Games super fan, I will say that Catching Fire is a total and complete step up from its predecessor. The script, the story, the characters, the pacing, just about everything was nailed down and almost perfected in this one. This time, there actually is a spark between Katniss and Peeta, as Hutcherson seems to have a much stronger grasp on his baker boy character. Even though the relationship with Katniss was only supposed to be for the cameras, one could sense that Peeta has developed real feelings for her, even though, as far as he knows, her heart belongs to another. Hutcherson conveyed that repressed emotion beautifully this time around, whereas in the first film, he came off as little… blank.
As Katniss, Lawrence reminds us why she’s an Oscar winner at such a young age, she absolutely shines. She owns this shit. Without even appearing to try, she shows Katniss’ strength, integrity, and humanity. The speech she gives early on in the film in which she pays tribute to a fallen contender is surprisingly moving. I can very easily buy that this woman could inspire people to rise up and take action. Oh, and when it comes to the physical stuff, I totally believe that she can kick ass, as well. Appearing in nearly every single scene, this is absolutely, positively Lawrence’s movie, and she carries it flawlessly.
That’s not to say that she doesn’t have help from the supporting cast, and man is this supporting cast game. Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz are back as the mentors to Katniss and Peeta, and while Harrelson’s drunken Haymich is given more time in the sun, Kravitz seems weirdly shortchanged, having little to say or do. Elizabeth Banks and Stanley Tucci also return, providing the story with its spot on (if not on the nose) media satire. With their ridiculous costumes and hair, they are both funny as all hell, though I found Banks’s over-the-top make-up so grotesque that at times I had trouble looking at her. The best of all the returning supporting players is Sutherland as the President, as this time we truly get to see the sinister snake beneath the façade of the benign old man. He is as chilling as he is ruthless.
The newcomers to the cast of Catching Fire are a real treat. Hoffman plays the new game master with that smarmy sliminess that he’s so damn good at, and I relished every second he was on screen. Like Lawrence, he just makes it look so damn easy. Then there’s Wright as the tribute Beetee, who doesn’t get as much screen time as I would’ve liked, but Wright has shown in the past that he can do a whole lot with very little, and this is no exception. The ever squirrelly Amanda Plummer also has a nice bit as a tribute who kind of loses her shit when the games begin. I can’t even remember the last time I saw her in something, but she was great here.
This brings me to the two members of the supporting cast who nearly steal the movie in its second half, Sam Claflin and Jena Malone, as Finnick and Johanna, respectively. Claflin lays on the oily charm extra thick before the games, then once the shit gets going, he transitions into quite the credible action star. As for Malone, if you didn’t think Donnie Darko’s girlfriend could make a believable badass, guess again. Her bitter, jaded Johanna is utterly convincing. Every line of dialogue that comes out of her mouth is priceless, and you absolutely do not want to be on the receiving end of her ax. Both Claflin and Malone are flat out fucking awesome, and I can’t wait to see more of them in the upcoming sequels.
Not only is the supporting cast upgraded in this sequel, but so is the director, with Francis Lawrence replacing Gary Ross. Ross’ direction was too frenzied and frantic, whereas Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer) isn’t afraid to simply back off and allow the script and the story to carry this film. Though, of course, the outlandish sets and costumes do allow for some considerable visual flair, which Lawrence takes full advantage of. Lawrence also has more experience on the action front, and is able to shoot and edit the fight scenes in a way that doesn’t require the herky-jerky shaky cam, instead allowing us to actually see the action, which makes it all the more impactful.
Indeed, Catching Fire is a superior sequel in just about every way, shape, and form, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t have some issues with it. My big one being the incredibly half-assed love triangle involving Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, who has just as little screen time in this movie as he did in the first. This isn’t fucking Twilight. The Hunger Games is better than Twilight, it’s smarter than Twilight, and unlike Twilight, it is not driven by a fucking soap opera romance. The love triangle, like the character of Gale himself, is completely extraneous and only cheapens the film. All of that should have been cut from the outset.
My other big beef with Catching Fire is that it took too long to get to the games, and once it got to the games, they didn’t last long enough. Now, the competition is well done, and quite surprising in how it plays out, I just wish it could have gone on for longer than it did, as it seemed to be over way too soon. Those qualms aside, I absolutely loved this second Hunger Games film. The first movie I thought was merely decent, but Catching Fire, again, has raised the stakes in every way possible. It’s smart, exhilarating, and emotionally engaging in a way that the Twilight flicks only wish they could be. It ends on a cliff hanger that many have found reminiscent of The Empire Strikes Back, and it has left this reviewer hungry for more.
