Anyone going into this thinking, "Once is a blessing, twice is a curse" will be knocked back as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is excellent. Things may be getting a bit shittier in Katniss' world but nothing has gone to Hell in the quality of this entry.
Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), the winners of the previous Hunger Games, are in for far from a welcome home after their victory. In fact, due to Katniss' rebeliousness towards the government, defiance towards the rules, and her and Peeta's combined effort to commit suicide to end the last games, things are much more chaotic on the home land as the hope spread from these players' actions is being spread to the towns who feel they no longer have to live this way. Long story short, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the Hunger Games' creator; Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) want her dead, they plan to achieve this by sending the two victors', and two victors from every other district to a semi-finals battle of the winners Hunger Games. But Katniss is far from going down without a fight, even when she comes to realize that the scariest things out there are everything outside of the Hunger Games.
Jennifer Lawrence once again is on fire as Katniss. She's brave, heroic, humorous, rootable, and she feels like a very authentic character, you'll go with her through anything. Donald Sutherland and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (a great new addition) shine as the villians, their menace and devious plans are far more chilling then the actual games. Also noteworthy new additions are Finnick (played by Sam Clafin with a devious, mysterious charm) and Johanna (played with agression, fun, and grit by Jena Melone) as fellow competitors who team up with Katniss and Peeta. I can't say I was terribly impressed with Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. I can't tell if it's the performance or the actual character but I find his part a terribly bland piece in a stock romance. I would say the romantic element of The Hunger Games is probably my least favorite part and probably the only reason why I would say the first in the series was a tad stronger considering it featured less of it.
Catching Fire has a similar set-up to the first. The first half is dedicated to getting things ready for the battle and the tension is amped up in this one due to the events in the first. The political, moral, and social evil in the first half is actually quite chilling as everyone seems to act without a mind of their own; almost groupspeak.
The set-up leads towards most viewers' favorite half of the movie; the actual games. And they definitely don't disappoint. These scenes are amazing, thrilling as the tension feels amped up this time. The scenes with the violent monkeys, tear gas, and spinning platform are every movie junkie's amped up fantasy.
And though I'm usually not a fan of cliffhanger endings, Catching Fire ends with a bang. Though you don't know where this bang will lead, you don't care as Catching Fire effectively takes the viewer from one journey to the next heart racing and pulse pounding.
Grade: 3/4
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