Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire

A review

November 24, 2013

Viewed November 21, 2013

****.5 out of *****

Occasionally the tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants.” 
― Thomas Jefferson

            The battle rages on.   It is a part of her now whether she accepts it or not.   She carries the scars and the memories, and now she has to endure an even deeper burden.   She is a winner.   She has survived to live and breathe, but not to have any lasting freedom.   She is both victim and victor of something she has started in words and deeds.   She is still so young, and her future is yet to be written.  

            In real time the sequel to 2012’s sensational, The Hunger Games comes eighteen months later an eternity perhaps for audiences anxious to take another trip inside the nightmare world of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian landscape, and encounter one of literature’s most fascinating recent creations, Katniss Everdeen. 

            Ms. Collins books with its first person narration and its vivid and heartbreaking glimpse into a future world gone horribly wrong inhabit a unique place in popular culture, and offer an interesting commentary on our need to see every aspect of one another’s life played out for enjoyment.

            This latest film finds Katniss and Peeta at home and ready to take a victory tour following the first film through the districts of Panem.    Prior to leaving, she is warned that in order to save the life of her friends and family she must make a convincing show of allegiance to the Capital, and prove that she truly loves Peeta, and it is not an act derived for survival in the first Hunger Games.    What they find on tour instead is a country on the verge of a revolution, and Peeta and Katniss are sent back to the arena along with winners of past games to show a country ready to revolt who is really in charge. 

            In many ways this film is a landmark improvement on the first film.    First off the stakes are deeper, and for much of its two and half hour running time the sweep and power of the film is overwhelming in its intensity.    New director, Francis Lawrence who will return for the two part conclusion of the series due the next two years infuses the characterizations and action sequences with an incredible sense of control over the proceedings.     The result is an epic powerhouse of ideas, from its quiet opening where we see Katniss in quiet pose to the stunning end sequence as the camera stares straight down at her eyes wide open and afraid.  

            Jennifer Lawrence who owns this part is this film’s most valuable resource.    One simply cannot take their eyes off this actress as she attacks the role with a fervor and passion that is simply wonderful.     The rest of the returning cast is great with stronger work in this film by Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.    Elizabeth Banks and Lenny Kravitz add depth and layers to their performances that add to the richness of the characters.   

            The returnees are backed up by the excellent character choices and casting for the new roles.   Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer and a terrific Jena Malone as competitors and former victors in the arena make the most of their parts.     The two larger new roles are played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, as the new game maker.  Mr. Hoffman as is generally the case with this fine actor adds a sense of menace and mystery to his multi-leveled performance.    Sam Clafin gives a sharp turn to the role of Finnick.    

            As the middle film in a four film series, Catching Fire is one of the stronger entries in recent years for a public perhaps tired of endless retreads of familiar stories.  One of the appeals of The Hunger Games stories is the freshness of the ideas.     If the film has a flaw it is in the repetition of the flow of the first film.     What is refreshing is the power of its female heroine.     Even as a symbol of the upcoming revolution for the books and films, she is truly a remarkable character and champion of both freedom and individual expression.    In its breathless cliffhanger ending Lawrence captures the rage and frustration of her character’s journey both literal and metaphorically.     Director Lawrence may have represented a change in tone for the franchise, but he knew the Lawrence on everyone’s lips was the twenty-three old who has become a heroine for the ages.     

                                                                        Tommy Key

Rated PG-13(intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images, thematic elements, suggestive situation, language)