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Friday, November 22, 2013

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE



The Hunger Games saga continues in this sequel that finds a revolution brewing as Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) take a "Victor's Tour" of the districts, and President Snow (Donald Sutherland) plots their downfall during preparations for The Quarter Quell, which only occurs every 25 years in celebration of the Capitol's victory over the districts. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Francis Lawrence

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson

Release Date: Nov 22, 2013

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some
frightening images, thematic elements, a suggestive situation and language.

Runtime: 2 hr. 26 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

The 2nd film in a major film franchise is typically the most difficult. It has to deal with heightened expectations first and foremost with most films failing to match the energy that made the first entry successful. Thankfully The Hunger Games: Catching Fire isn’t one of those films. Catching Fire does everything you want a 2nd entry in a big budget franchise to do, it corrects chemistry and story problems from the 1st film while expanding the world, while delivering a deeper exploration of the themes at play. It’s an impressive feat accomplished by the cast and crew. Francis Lawrence’s direction is steady and capable making the 2 and ½ hour run seem necessary with rarely a wasted scene in the whole film. Lawrence moves the film at a steady pace, giving the audience enough time to digest the events on screen but never lingering. The first two acts in particular are quite impressive mainly because with a lesser director, cast and script it’d be a laborious slog through exposition. Instead the first act serves nicely as an epilogue/entry point for the new film as it shows the after effects of the first film. The 2nd act starts the main plot in earnest even though we do start to run into some retread moments with slightly different spins with the 3rd act leaving you with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. It’s not a major fault but it does feel very familiar until the last 15 minutes change up the entire game. The cast lead by Jennifer Lawrence, providing even more depth to the reluctant rebel, is excellent throughout. Lawrence is the center of the film providing it with heart and strength while maintaining a tangible vulnerability. Thankfully, Josh Hutcherson’s character and performance in this entry is stronger overall even if he does seem to suffer from damsel in distress syndrome quite a bit. The returning cast member, Harrelson and Banks in particular, are given a bit more to chew on, fleshing out their characters into living breathing human beings. Sam Claflin and Jena Malone are both welcome additions to the cast even if Malone tends to oversell her performance from time to time. When you add it all up, Catching Fire really delivers on nearly all counts, stumbling slightly in the 3rd act which can get a little repetitive before an interesting turn and cliffhanger.

B+

11 comments:

  1. Good review Dan. While I'm still of the opinion that the first is just a tad bit better, this flick still kicks all the right ass it needs to tell its story, give us characters to care for and make us see why the next two movies are going to be as epic as humanly possible.

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    1. I'll have to watch the first again because I watched it once and never revisited it. I really thought this 2nd entry hit all the right marks. Looking forward to the last 2.

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  2. The first Hunger Games was kind of a major disappointment for me. Considering all the hype, I expected the next great franchise and what I got was a crap ton of shaky-cam and dull characters except for Lawrence's performance. It was still good, but not what I had hoped considering the concept. With everyone loving Catching Fire, I might actually go see this one in theaters.

    -James

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    1. I really enjoyed to be honest but it was far from a perfect film. Truth be told though, I went in with the lowest of expectations since I expected to be a Twilight type series....2nd film I found much stronger overall.

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    2. I have finally watched and the reviewed the movie and I have to say that I was as impressed as you were with Catching Fire. Francis Lawrence does a far superior job directing than Ross did with the first installment, and a lot of the potential I saw in the first movie was fully realized here. I was also glad that Catching Fire actually showed some more violence and was generally darker. The movie did leave me excited to see the sequel next year though.

      To clarify, the main reason why I had higher expectations for the first Hunger Games was that most people gave it great reviews that ranged from a B to an A+. Until those reviews however, I was not particularly interested in the movie.

      -James

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    3. Totally agree with you James, I was really impressed with entry, coming to the series as a noob it's impressed me with each entry.

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  3. Top notch review, Daniel. Enjoyed it as much as you did. Hope they can keep this quality level in both Mockingjay parts.

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    1. Thank Maynard, need to read your. Glad to know we both enjoyed it though.

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  4. Great review, Daniel! Couldn't agree more. I thought it was a very fast run time and did a great job at adapting the novel. VERY entertaining from start to finish.

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  5. Was not interested in the films but got dragged to the first and was surprisingly impressed. With all but Josh Hutcherson, who is not that good of an actor. I hated his Peeta so much, I wanted Katniss to stab him in the eye or leave him to the dogs at the end.

    Probably won't see this til DVD, but I enjoyed your review. Hopefully I will enjoy Peeta more this time around.

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    1. He's more bearable this time even though he needs saving a lot. Think the main issue is how his character is written, it's not the most subtle route but I get what she was trying to do with him. It makes a tad more sense in the 2nd film.

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