THE HUNGER GAMES : CATCHING FIRE
Director : Francis Lawrence
Year : 2013
Genre : Thriller
Rating : *****
Directed by Francis Lawrence, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is the sequel to the massively successful 2012 adaptation of Suzanne Collins' dystopian novel 'The Hunger Games'. Having made such uninspired films as 'Constantine' and 'I Am Legend', Lawrence finally proves his worth with this brilliantly dark and powerfully potent blockbuster that subverts every convention and cliche associated with traditional teenage aimed fantasy and throws in a heaping helping of social commentary, scorching zeitgeistical ideologies and a complex and deeply subversive narrative that has it's head way above the usual waters of modern popular cinema. Once again starring Jennifer Lawrence as the film's headstrong but realistically vulnerable central protagonist Katniss Everdeen, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' ups the ante and improves upon the interesting but troubled original. With better special effects, better acting and a much more involving plot and developed characters than the 2012 movie, this is a film that is an absolute joy to behold. In a time when directors and production companies are more than happy to randomly throw poorly written, badly made garbage at us to attract teenagers and young adults to the dying cinema, it is unbelievably refreshing to see a movie have such conviction and give our children a story that is far deeper, shocking and much more antiutopian than any other modern 'kids' movie I have seen for a good long while. While 'The Hunger Games' was good, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is a damn near masterpiece of pure entertainment and should be seen by as many people as possible.
The country of Panem is in a state of anarchic revolution. Having defied the establishment and having beaten the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen has now become a symbol of hope and defiance to those who are living under the oppression of President Snow and the Capitol. After returning to her hometown of District 12, Katniss is visited by the President and is told to continue the fake loving relationship she formed with her fellow Hunger Games survivor Peeta to distract the downtrodden people of Panem from the atrocities and poverty that they are suffering on daily basis. Made to traverse the country and salute those who perished in the games by their own hands, Katniss and Peeta are paraded around completely against their will as moral stalwarts, endeavouring to show that the gladiatorial and completely barbaric games are actually needed. However, Snow is convinced that Everdeen's defiance in the arena will soon lead to full scale revolution and as a result must be eliminated. As the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games quickly approaches, Snow changes the rules for the upcoming tournament and all previous winners of the games are chosen for reaping, meaning that Katniss is once again forced to fight for her life in the arena against some of the most ruthless and deadliest contestants ever to take part in the compulsory bloodshed.
While I really, really enjoyed the original film (in fact in narrowly missed out of a place on my top 10 films of the year), there were some serious problems in terms of pacing, character and overall direction. Gary Ross had proved himself a director of worth thanks to such fare as 'Pleasantville' and 'Seabiscuit' and while not an obvious choice to helm a movie about children killing children, he did a pretty good job of bringing Collins' anarchic and overwhelmingly nihilistic book to the big screen. However, an overuse of free camera work made it very difficult to actually comprehend what was going on a lot of the time and while this technique may have been used to disguise some of the more graphic and violent imagery to a varying degree of success; most of the time the wobbly, vomit inducing cinematographical style fiercely distracts from the already established tension and the overall narrative. Conversely, Francis Lawrence turns a blind eye to this usually distracting camera style and instead makes great use of steady tracking shots, overwhelming establishing shots complete with beautifully realised computer generated detail and a much more overall relaxed camera technique, meaning that much more can be seen at one time and we can become enveloped in the worlds created and the predicaments of every single character.
At nearly two and a half hours, 'The Hunger Games' did outstay it's welcome and while a good proportion of it's running time was designated to rather flimsy character exposition and the intense training scenes, the movie itself lost power when Katniss Everdeen eventually entered the arena. Yes it was certainly gripping, but it also became increasingly repetitive. Jennifer Lawrence herself really didn't seem fully comfortable in her role and rather than becoming the character, she seemed to just allow the role to fall into place around the shoddy special effects and two dimensional characters. Now, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is around the same length of time but thanks to much better pacing, a more involving and beguiling screenplay and characters who are much more developed and therefore relatable, the movie corrects all of the wrongs of it's predecessor. Jennifer Lawrence fully embodies the role of Katniss Everdeen and becomes more of an icon; encapsulating everything about her, making her so much more personable and likable than she was in the first film. Ever since the astonishing 'A Winter's Bone' (for which she should have won an Oscar), Lawrence has continued to become one of my favourite actresses working today and thanks to films such as this and 'Silver Linings Playbook' for which she did indeed win an Academy Award, she has also become one of the most popular. Much more down to Earth and real than so many of the wannabe divas of Hollywood today, Jennifer Lawrence is the epitomy of a peoples actress and I hope that the phenomenal success of 'The Hunger Games' series will allow her to persue a career to rival that of Elizabeth Taylor or Meryl Streep.
Not only is Jennifer Lawrence completely mercurial in her central role, but all of the actors and actresses on screen bring their A game to the film and thanks to Lawrence's careful and controlled direction, we are allowed to become much more involved in their various personalities and character traits. Josh Hutcherson is very good in his role as Peeta, the other survivor of the previous games who is desperately in love with Katniss but knows that the love is not reciprocated. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks are also great as Katniss and Peeta's loyal mentors and Donald Sutherland relishes every moment on screen playing the evil and villainous President Snow. Alongside the main characters, Stanley Tucci is terrifyingly hilarious as the almost Joker-like TV host Caesar Flickerman who shows no empathy or even emotion when confronted with the 24 contestants of the upcoming games; 23 of which will be dead by the end of the week. His character seems to embody the blindness and the forced naivety of the people of Panem and while we never see him do anything remotely sinister, his demeanour and theatrical body language provides 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' with some it's most creepy and downright scariest moments.
With a more intense narrative and with a lot more at stake, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is the most nerve racking 12A rated film I have seen since 'Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows : Part 2' and while the movie is certainly suitable enough for that age barrier, there are certain scenes in the film which will definitely distress those of a more sensitive nature and for this reason, I would certainly adhere to the BBFC certification. Thanks to the more cinematic camera style, Francis Lawrence is able to show us a lot more in terms of both death and grisly pain and because of this 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' feels a lot more monumental and epic than it's predecessor.
Concentrating much more on the bigger picture of revolution and dictatorial government, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is a more accomplished and diverting film than it's troubled original. Exploring material that is rarely explored in modern multiplex cinema, this is truly a film for the ages. Yes it looks great and the acting is top notch, but it is an absolute wonder to see a film go for such dark and adult aimed fare while still managing to adhere to it's target audience. Of course, there will still be the Michael Bays and Adam Sandlers around who are still trying to disembowell everything I love about the world of film, but if filmmakers are prepared to risk their all in giving us a mature, thrilling and emotion driven magnum opus like this, then all is right with the universe. For now, the odds are clearly in our favour and long may they stay that way.
While I really, really enjoyed the original film (in fact in narrowly missed out of a place on my top 10 films of the year), there were some serious problems in terms of pacing, character and overall direction. Gary Ross had proved himself a director of worth thanks to such fare as 'Pleasantville' and 'Seabiscuit' and while not an obvious choice to helm a movie about children killing children, he did a pretty good job of bringing Collins' anarchic and overwhelmingly nihilistic book to the big screen. However, an overuse of free camera work made it very difficult to actually comprehend what was going on a lot of the time and while this technique may have been used to disguise some of the more graphic and violent imagery to a varying degree of success; most of the time the wobbly, vomit inducing cinematographical style fiercely distracts from the already established tension and the overall narrative. Conversely, Francis Lawrence turns a blind eye to this usually distracting camera style and instead makes great use of steady tracking shots, overwhelming establishing shots complete with beautifully realised computer generated detail and a much more overall relaxed camera technique, meaning that much more can be seen at one time and we can become enveloped in the worlds created and the predicaments of every single character.
At nearly two and a half hours, 'The Hunger Games' did outstay it's welcome and while a good proportion of it's running time was designated to rather flimsy character exposition and the intense training scenes, the movie itself lost power when Katniss Everdeen eventually entered the arena. Yes it was certainly gripping, but it also became increasingly repetitive. Jennifer Lawrence herself really didn't seem fully comfortable in her role and rather than becoming the character, she seemed to just allow the role to fall into place around the shoddy special effects and two dimensional characters. Now, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is around the same length of time but thanks to much better pacing, a more involving and beguiling screenplay and characters who are much more developed and therefore relatable, the movie corrects all of the wrongs of it's predecessor. Jennifer Lawrence fully embodies the role of Katniss Everdeen and becomes more of an icon; encapsulating everything about her, making her so much more personable and likable than she was in the first film. Ever since the astonishing 'A Winter's Bone' (for which she should have won an Oscar), Lawrence has continued to become one of my favourite actresses working today and thanks to films such as this and 'Silver Linings Playbook' for which she did indeed win an Academy Award, she has also become one of the most popular. Much more down to Earth and real than so many of the wannabe divas of Hollywood today, Jennifer Lawrence is the epitomy of a peoples actress and I hope that the phenomenal success of 'The Hunger Games' series will allow her to persue a career to rival that of Elizabeth Taylor or Meryl Streep.
Not only is Jennifer Lawrence completely mercurial in her central role, but all of the actors and actresses on screen bring their A game to the film and thanks to Lawrence's careful and controlled direction, we are allowed to become much more involved in their various personalities and character traits. Josh Hutcherson is very good in his role as Peeta, the other survivor of the previous games who is desperately in love with Katniss but knows that the love is not reciprocated. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks are also great as Katniss and Peeta's loyal mentors and Donald Sutherland relishes every moment on screen playing the evil and villainous President Snow. Alongside the main characters, Stanley Tucci is terrifyingly hilarious as the almost Joker-like TV host Caesar Flickerman who shows no empathy or even emotion when confronted with the 24 contestants of the upcoming games; 23 of which will be dead by the end of the week. His character seems to embody the blindness and the forced naivety of the people of Panem and while we never see him do anything remotely sinister, his demeanour and theatrical body language provides 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' with some it's most creepy and downright scariest moments.
With a more intense narrative and with a lot more at stake, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is the most nerve racking 12A rated film I have seen since 'Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows : Part 2' and while the movie is certainly suitable enough for that age barrier, there are certain scenes in the film which will definitely distress those of a more sensitive nature and for this reason, I would certainly adhere to the BBFC certification. Thanks to the more cinematic camera style, Francis Lawrence is able to show us a lot more in terms of both death and grisly pain and because of this 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' feels a lot more monumental and epic than it's predecessor.
Concentrating much more on the bigger picture of revolution and dictatorial government, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' is a more accomplished and diverting film than it's troubled original. Exploring material that is rarely explored in modern multiplex cinema, this is truly a film for the ages. Yes it looks great and the acting is top notch, but it is an absolute wonder to see a film go for such dark and adult aimed fare while still managing to adhere to it's target audience. Of course, there will still be the Michael Bays and Adam Sandlers around who are still trying to disembowell everything I love about the world of film, but if filmmakers are prepared to risk their all in giving us a mature, thrilling and emotion driven magnum opus like this, then all is right with the universe. For now, the odds are clearly in our favour and long may they stay that way.
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