Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay by: Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt
Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins
WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FIRST HUNGER GAMES FILM OR READ THE BOOKS, GO SEE THE MOVIE AND THEN COME BACK TO THIS REVIEW!!!!!
This is one of my most anticipated films of 2013. How does it stack up with the first one?
President Snow (Donald Sutherland) has a problem. After Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) won the 74th Hunger Games, there have been rumors of a possible rebellion in the 12 districts of Panem. The Hunger Games were set up by the Capitol in order to prevent a rebellion such as this from happening, but so far, it's looking like the districts are ready to rebel against the Capitol once more.
This year is the 75th Hunger Games. But it's not just any Hunger Games this year, it's the Quarter Quell, which means that the games have an edge to them that they normally do not have. The rules are different. Normally, the tributes (those who are placed in the games) are picked randomly in an event called the Reaping. The Reaping goes on as usual, but the selection is far narrower because those chosen will be of the existing pool of victors, meaning that Katniss and Peeta are going in again.
But there's something different this year about Katniss and Peeta being the tributes from District 12. Last year, they were normal people who nobody had heard of, and this year they are victors of the previous Hunger Games. After a huge publicity stunt in last year's games, they have become beacons of hope for the people of Panem, and a threat to the Capitol. The Capitol this year, will stop at nothing to eliminate them, especially Katniss. Will President Snow succeed in eliminating them or will Katniss and Peeta triumph once more?
The story for this film is certainly different from that of the first film. But it requires a great deal of knowledge of the first film or the books for Catching Fire to make sense. Unlike the last film, there is no explanation of how the games work. You, the viewer should know exactly what the Hunger Games are before going into the theater to watch this film.
In the first film, the story is quite evenly paced, leaving plenty of time for us to watch the actual Hunger Games. In this film, the exposition and all of the action leading up to the moment when Katniss enters the arena takes much longer. It feels like the first two thirds of the movie are simply leading up to the games. It's a little too drawn out, but at the same time sticks pretty closely to the book, a huge plus.
Jennifer Lawrence delivers a somewhat overdramatic performance once again as Katniss Everdeen. Josh Hutcherson is excellent in his role as Peeta Mellark, and Woody Harrelson is quite good in his role as Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta's mentor.
I don't normally comment on the costume design, but the costumes are truly incredible in this film, as they were in the first film. They are full of bright colors and help bring these characters to life in a terrific way. If you like costume design, it really doesn't get a lot better than this.
The special effects are straight out of a summer blockbuster, which makes me wonder why the studio released the film the weekend before Thanksgiving. Just like those summer blockbusters, sometimes it doesn't look at all like anything was animated, and other times, it's pretty easy to tell what's real in the movie and what's not. The special effects add a great deal of visual pleasure to a viewer's eye.
Some people I've talked to over the last week have said that Catching Fire is better than the first movie. I disagree. The first film in trilogies is almost always better than the sequel, and sometimes is the best film of a trilogy. That said, Catching Fire is almost as good if not equally good as the first movie. Catching Fire feels a little more drawn out at times than it should be, but it sticks closely to the book, and even ends in the same exact way that the book ends. One thing that I've found also among friends and other people I've spoken to about the film, is that people tend to think the film Catching Fire is better than the book. I would agree with that statement because I find that the three books get progressively worse, making me not too excited for the film version of the third book, Mockingjay.
Overall, this film is darn good. It does the book justice and in some regards, is actually an improvement of the book. I know that by now, most people have seen it, but if you haven't seen it yet, I do recommend it.
I give The Hunger Games: Catching Fire a B.
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay by: Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt
Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins
WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FIRST HUNGER GAMES FILM OR READ THE BOOKS, GO SEE THE MOVIE AND THEN COME BACK TO THIS REVIEW!!!!!
This is one of my most anticipated films of 2013. How does it stack up with the first one?
President Snow (Donald Sutherland) has a problem. After Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) won the 74th Hunger Games, there have been rumors of a possible rebellion in the 12 districts of Panem. The Hunger Games were set up by the Capitol in order to prevent a rebellion such as this from happening, but so far, it's looking like the districts are ready to rebel against the Capitol once more.
This year is the 75th Hunger Games. But it's not just any Hunger Games this year, it's the Quarter Quell, which means that the games have an edge to them that they normally do not have. The rules are different. Normally, the tributes (those who are placed in the games) are picked randomly in an event called the Reaping. The Reaping goes on as usual, but the selection is far narrower because those chosen will be of the existing pool of victors, meaning that Katniss and Peeta are going in again.
But there's something different this year about Katniss and Peeta being the tributes from District 12. Last year, they were normal people who nobody had heard of, and this year they are victors of the previous Hunger Games. After a huge publicity stunt in last year's games, they have become beacons of hope for the people of Panem, and a threat to the Capitol. The Capitol this year, will stop at nothing to eliminate them, especially Katniss. Will President Snow succeed in eliminating them or will Katniss and Peeta triumph once more?
The story for this film is certainly different from that of the first film. But it requires a great deal of knowledge of the first film or the books for Catching Fire to make sense. Unlike the last film, there is no explanation of how the games work. You, the viewer should know exactly what the Hunger Games are before going into the theater to watch this film.
In the first film, the story is quite evenly paced, leaving plenty of time for us to watch the actual Hunger Games. In this film, the exposition and all of the action leading up to the moment when Katniss enters the arena takes much longer. It feels like the first two thirds of the movie are simply leading up to the games. It's a little too drawn out, but at the same time sticks pretty closely to the book, a huge plus.
Jennifer Lawrence delivers a somewhat overdramatic performance once again as Katniss Everdeen. Josh Hutcherson is excellent in his role as Peeta Mellark, and Woody Harrelson is quite good in his role as Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta's mentor.
I don't normally comment on the costume design, but the costumes are truly incredible in this film, as they were in the first film. They are full of bright colors and help bring these characters to life in a terrific way. If you like costume design, it really doesn't get a lot better than this.
The special effects are straight out of a summer blockbuster, which makes me wonder why the studio released the film the weekend before Thanksgiving. Just like those summer blockbusters, sometimes it doesn't look at all like anything was animated, and other times, it's pretty easy to tell what's real in the movie and what's not. The special effects add a great deal of visual pleasure to a viewer's eye.
Some people I've talked to over the last week have said that Catching Fire is better than the first movie. I disagree. The first film in trilogies is almost always better than the sequel, and sometimes is the best film of a trilogy. That said, Catching Fire is almost as good if not equally good as the first movie. Catching Fire feels a little more drawn out at times than it should be, but it sticks closely to the book, and even ends in the same exact way that the book ends. One thing that I've found also among friends and other people I've spoken to about the film, is that people tend to think the film Catching Fire is better than the book. I would agree with that statement because I find that the three books get progressively worse, making me not too excited for the film version of the third book, Mockingjay.
Overall, this film is darn good. It does the book justice and in some regards, is actually an improvement of the book. I know that by now, most people have seen it, but if you haven't seen it yet, I do recommend it.
I give The Hunger Games: Catching Fire a B.
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