Viewed in
2013
Formats
Movie theater.
Premise
In part two of the Mockingjay franchise, Jennifer Lawrence and company return as past champions are forced to compete in the Quarter Quell, as hints of revolution continue to bubble up.
Loved
Lawrence crushing every scene.
Liked
Interesting character development, second act's themes and intensity, wealth of strong performances.
Disliked
Anticlimactic ending.
Thoughts
There was a lot to like.
As expected, Lawrence's magnetism, pathos, and conviction carried the film, expanding Katniss' badassery, awareness, and doubts. Tons of fantastic actors surrounded her, each with their chance to shine. I very much enjoyed Woody Harrelson's nuanced performance, and Stanley Tucci's incessant mugging. Newcomers Jeffrey Wright and Amanda Plummer shook things up in the middle act.
One reason why the acting was so strong was because the story gave most of the actors interesting character developments. This time around, the love triangle amongst Kat, Peeta, and Gale was more fleshed out, complex, and believable. Prim's growth was cool too. But the biggest surprise was Elizabeth Banks' character. Previously, I thought she was a super-annoying one-off. Now, my impression of Effie has changed.
A lot of these cool moments occurred during the enthralling middle section. This was my favorite part of the story. We were exposed to a fascinating, expanding world, plus allegories to celebrity culture, class warfare, government repression, even a tinge of racism. As Katniss' awareness of revolution and feelings toward Peeta complicates, the movie hurled into super-entertaining pace, full of emotional intensity.
Sadly, the movie couldn't keep the momentum. Saddled with the obligation of a "part two" cliffhanger, the ending was very anticlimactic and sudden. Also, while the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman brought a new danger element, his role was a little underwhelming.
Without any knowledge of the books, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was a very strong sequel, thanks to interesting growths in characters, performances, universe, subplots, and themes. Too bad the ending wasn't executed better.
