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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire tells the story of Katniss Everdeen (Jeniffer Lawrance)as she finds herself fighting for survival back in the Hunger Games as part of an old tradition called the ‘Quarter Quell’.
Based on Suzanne Collins dystopian novel by the same name, the movie is an emotional journey of survival, rebellion and love – but in order to truly enjoy the story you need to leave your head for rational plots at the door.
There were several moments in the movie where the plot suspended belief in order to create maximum emotional effect – which was achieved. The narrative had some very dark moments that allowed the audience to empathise with the characters, but the natural charisma of actors like Jennifer Lawrance and Woody Harrelson stopped the movie feeling depressing even in it’s darkest moments.
Catching Fire enjoyed a much larger budget than its predecessor – which helped the movie visually.
The residents of the Capitol wore fantastically extravagant costumes and the C.G.I. sold the sometimes questionable plot. It is always a risk when adapting science fiction novels that you will not live up to the audiences imagination, but Catching Fire managed to achieve some genuinely impressive visual effect sequences that blended in with the rest of the story.
Unfortunately it appears that the budget didn’t stretch far enough to buy Woody Harrelson’s character Haymitch Abernathy a decent wig.
The movie played as a masterclass of book to film adaptations. Keeping true to the book, director Francis Lawrence should be applauded for using theatrical spectacles to only enhance the plot and never change it.
Catching Fire is nicely paced and never feels rushed, unlike the first film, and the story also has some very surprising twists that it keeps expertly secret until the final moments of the movie.
One criticism of the movie was it’s tendency to let Hollywood shine through the cracks in the narrative.
The final scene, without spoilers, felt unnecessary and slightly forced. The story is also guilty of finishing abruptly leaving you feeling slightly frustrated at the end.
But, in fairness these criticisms are only emphasised because they were one of only a few moments that tore you away from a genuinely engaging story.
Catching Fire is in cinemas now.
Fact Cinema Liverpool listings:
Wed 27 Nov 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
Thu 28 Nov 11:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
Fri 29 Nov 13:00 15:00 18:00 20:30
Sat 30 Nov 13:00 15:00 18:00 20:30
Sun 01 Dec 12:50 15:00 18:00 20:30
Mon 02 Dec 13:00 15:00 18:00 20:30
Tue 03 Dec 13:00 15:00 18:00 20:30