The Hunger Games: Catching Fire stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland. Directed by Francis Lawrence.
Catching Fire takes places a year following the events of the first movie. Coping with her traumatic experiences surviving the previous year’s Hunger Game – in which she, and others like her, is chosen to represent her district in an annual free-for-all deathmatch – protagonist Katniss Everdine (Lawrence) is finding herself between a rock and a hard place. Her bold and unorthodox victory has inspired the flames of revolution in amid the districts, furious against the futuristic and ruthless dystopian government responsible for these brutal games. These revolts have ruffled the feathers of one President Snow (Sutherland), who would like nothing more than to expunge Katniss and the defiant nature she represents to the rising rebellion.
While the first film felt tame and lacking teeth, considering the subject matter, it at least left an impression that Katniss’ brazened victory teased something bigger on the horizon; that a single act of defiance in a tournament that annually massacres children was going to lead to bigger stakes and even bigger sacrifices now that revolution is night. Catching Fire does feel “bigger”; the budget sure feels bigger. Frankly, this second verse of the mockingjay’s song plays too closely to the first; this case of déjà vu keeps this sequel from getting too interesting until the final five minutes with a bait teaser for the two-part finale, vis-à-vis The Matrix Reloaded.
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And by the expression “same ol’ song and dance”, Catching Fire deviates little from the narrative threshold set by its predecessor. Once we and Katniss head for the Capital, we follow a familiar pattern: parade of tributes, the pre-game commentary (and yes, that means more of that obnoxious purple-haired Stanley Tucci character), more literal “girl on fire” antics – and we haven’t even gotten to the main plot event. Katniss is once again pitted into the Hunger Games; this time, the tributes are former victors. One of the greatest flaws of the last films was a lack of character among the tributes. Kids are killing each other and we, the audience, know we’re supposed to feel guilty about it. Unlike the first film, Catching Fire sports a more colorful cast, from the uncomfortably friendly to the downright eccentric – Jena Malone’s devil-may-care Johanna should at least warrant smiles (i.e. that elevator scene). The problem, however, is that we aren’t given enough time to appreciate them. I would have appreciated it more than the lukewarm Peeta-Gale love triangle B-plot. Look, I get it; it was enough to put teenage girls into theater seats for Twilight; but I really, really, really don’t want to sit through Mockingjay Parts One or Two for the chance for this sub-plot to detour the narrative.
The Bottom Line:
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire strays too little from familiarity that it feels more like a replay of the first movie rather than a true continuation. Higher budget and some interesting new faces do little to add some needed heat to a simmering “epic”.
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