REVIEW: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Courtesy of Lionsgate

The creative team behind The Hunger Games: Catching Fire apparently looked to the Harry Potter franchise for inspiration in adapting Suzanne Collins’ second book for the screen, a plus for fans of Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and the rest of the series’ interesting characters. Though some viewers may come away from the film upset that every tiny plot detail doesn’t match the novel, the screenplay’s deviations actually make the film more interesting in respect to character development and narrative structure.

Think about Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, the first two Harry Potter flicks. Fans loved them when they were released, myself included. But looking back on them now, almost no one lists them as their favorites. Why? They’re boring, literal adaptations. Director Chris Columbus was so concerned with cramming in absolutely everything from J.K. Rowling’s books that he didn’t stop to consider how the overstuffed stories would play on a theater screen instead of a reader’s mind.

Now that almost two years have passed since The Hunger Games was released, it’s clear that director Gary Ross had similar issues. It doesn’t make the film awful in retrospect, but after Mockingjay – Part II hits theaters in 2015 (yes, the franchise is following the unfortunate trend of splitting up the final installment of young adult lit adaptations), I don’t think anyone will be ranking it as their favorite of the bunch.

Deviating from the source material in small, but significant ways gets you Prisoner of Azkaban; slavish devotion to the source material gets you Twilight: New Moon. Fortunately for my sanity, Catching Fire heads down the former path. Francis Lawrence, taking over directing duties from Ross, brings Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt’s sharp, cynical script to life with a successful balance of intense action sequences, wry social commentary and – most importantly – crackling dialogue that adds depth to the characters.

Catching Fire begins with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) adjusting to life as celebrities after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games. They no longer live among the other citizens of District 12. Instead, they each have a home in the Victor’s Village. But that doesn’t help them cope with the trauma that comes with killing other children to survive.

Peeta copes with a surprising amount of strength, but Katniss suffers from debilitating bouts of PTSD. She now understands why Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), District 12’s previous Hunger Games winner, spends most of his time in a drunken stupor. However, life isn’t easier for Katniss and Peeta now that they’re out of the arena.

They still have to leave their families again to participate in a victory tour, continuing the ruse that they’re deeply in love. The dangerous President Snow (Donald Sutherland) constantly monitors them, hoping for a mistake that will allow him to eliminate a genuine threat to the Capitol’s dictatorial rule.

As they visit the other districts, people begin to protest the government; dissidents view Katniss as the embodiment of rebellion, a development that doesn’t go unnoticed by Snow. He keeps that in mind as he and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the new designer of the Hunger Games, prepare for the 75th installment of the brutal event. This year is a Quarter Quell, when the traditional rules disappear and the Capitol chooses participants in unique, more sinister ways.

The primary selling point of Catching Fire is Lawrence’s astonishing work as Katniss. There’s a reason her breakthrough performance in The Hunger Games made her a superstar, and she has become an even better actress since then. The character just survived a devastating experience and she discovers she’s still in danger, resulting in a more mature, battle-scarred version of Katniss. Lawrence somehow manages to make her even more compelling than before.

Her chemistry with Hutcherson is fantastic in respect to the characters’ friendship, but I still don’t buy Katniss’ conflicted romantic feelings with him. Her scenes with Liam Hemsworth as Gale, the third corner of the narrative’s love triangle, are even worse. The actor was barely a blip in the first film, and he doesn’t establish a presence in the sequel. Then again, the romantic relationships were never a major element in Collins’ novels either. I’m assuming there was a mandate from the studio to play it up for the Twilight crowd.

Catching Fire truly sizzles (ugh, I’m sorry) any time Lawrence and Sutherland interact. Their face-offs are intense, mostly because of the characters’ silences. There’s a river of implication flowing underneath them, particularly during a parade in which Katniss shoots Snow a glare from hundreds of yards away. There’s no mistaking what she’s communicating to her enemy, and the feeling is mutual. It’s an incredible moment.

Francis Lawrence deserves kudos for the stellar supporting cast. He’s responsible for some spectacular choices – Hoffman underplays everything brilliantly, and new Hunger Games competitors played by Sam Clafin, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer and Lynn Cohen all make wonderful impressions, be they inspiring, heartbreaking or hilarious. Most of the returning cast is also strong, especially Hutcherson, Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz and the delightfully smarmy Stanley Tucci.

Once the Quarter Quell begins, Lawrence demonstrates his skill for directing action. The individual battles are brief but brutal, and I appreciate how the director stages scenes involving strategy discussion as passionately as he focuses on the fights. I just wish the CGI was better; sequences involving angry baboons and a spinning island are laughably cartoonish.

Still, those are slight quibbles with an otherwise excellent film. Catching Fire should please die-hard fans and casual viewers alike (provided they’ve seen the first one), and the gut punch of a cliffhanger will have audiences counting down the days until Mockingjay – Part I hits theaters next November.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some frightening images, thematic elements, a suggestive situation and language.

Grade: A-