Hunger Games: Catching Fire is finally here, and we now get to see what our heroes Katniss and Peeta are up to after they have one the dreadful games. Of course, the many of you that have read the book already know what is going to happen, but I went in to this movie haven’t reading any of the books. I actually, for the first time last night, saw the first movie for the first time. Yes, I don’t know why either, because the first movie was pretty awesome, and now on to the sequel.
Katniss and Peeta have survived the Hunger Games, but now they must suffer the backlash from doing so. As they tour around to each district as celebrities, the people of the districts look to them as hope for a revolution to the system controlled by the cynical Capitol. On the other end of that spectrum, the leader of the Capitol, President Snow, sees the hope that is instilled in the public’s eyes as a bad thing, and wants an end to it. So he, with the help of a new game maker, plan to bring down the two heroes by changing the rules of the 75th annual Hunger Games. Now, all previous of recent game’s winners have to be brought back into the games to fight to the death.
Now I know I haven’t had much time with this movie franchise, since I saw the first movie for the first time last night, but i really enjoyed this movie. I enjoyed the first as well, but I think this one definitely stepped it up. I have heard from people that have read the books, that the second book was darker and grittier than the first, and that translated ever so nicely in the movie. You can almost compare it to Star Wars, because when you look at the very first Star Wars, it was an introduction, so they had to have a certain tone to it. Then when it came to Empire Strikes Back, it was time to go deep, and get to the darker side of the story. This is what happens with this second Hunger Games movie. Catching Fire focuses on that cynical agenda behind the Capitol, and the games don’t actually start until about an hour into the movie. And that is not a bad thing by any means. You are completely involved in the story, as Katniss and Peeta try to deal with this evil government that terrorizes their people. Sadly, you can draw some parallels to our reality, but at least we don’t have to be forced into games where we have to kill many others to live.
The acting performances are truly fantastic in the movie, and would say even better than the first. Jennifer Lawrence shows you why she won that Academy Award, and Josh Hutcherson steps it up probably the most out of all the characters. I found that he was a little weak in the first story, but in this one, he shows what he is made of. The action is great. The suspense is nail bitting, and I must commend director Francis Lawrence for getting rid of that shaky cam that was present in the first movie. Smooth and fluid camera work is what you will find in Catching fire, and a few plot twists as well, given that you haven’t read the book.
So I highly recommend the movie fellow friends, and I guarantee that if you liked the first one, you will definitely like this one. If you did see it, let me know what you thought of it, or just let me know how gorgeous, and in love you are with Jennifer Lawrence. Check out my video review below also. I apologize for my dialogue in the video. Unfortunately I had a case of the “likes” which I hate when that happens. Like totally…