Personally I though the second instalment of the Hunger Games trilogy was absolutely fantastic. It included pretty much everything the book contained, unlike the first film, which, while brilliant, did miss out a few of the important details crucial to the plot. The actors and actresses both old and new, did a spectacular job of the parts, particularly Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutchinson returning to their parts as protagonists Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, but also newcomer Sam Claflin who plays heartthrob Finnick Odair. The cast was perfectly chosen, and the costumes and location were as I had imagined them. The special effects were amazing and very realistic; it felt like you were actually there with them. The only improvements I can think of is that perhaps the camera was a little shaky in some scenes, but perhaps that was the effect though I found it a little hard to concentrate sometimes. The other improvement I can think of is that there was no enough 'love' moments between Peeta and Katniss and not enough emphasis on the whole pregnancy plot or enough focus on the locket containing the pictures of Katniss's family and the pearl from Peeta. Other than that, I think the director, Francis Lawrence, did an incredible job, and I hope this film gets some awards and I cannot wait for the third and final instalment to come out. I give this film 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5.
-Sophie Boston
Other reviews:
Rotten Tomato site -
"It is heartening to find a teen-oriented movie franchise as gritty as The Hunger Games. Even so, Catching Fire remains contradictory, caught in some nether world between nightmarish political allegory and adolescent escapism."
"Lighter on action and futuristic visuals, Catching Fire is superior to the first film by virtue of notable performances and more compelling storyline. If the quality of the filmmaking continues into Mockingjay, I'll be thrilled to see how it ends."
"Sharp as a flaming arrow and as explosive as when one hits a powderkeg, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the rousing, thought-provoking action epic the first movie failed to be."
Total Film -
"...Not that you’d know it from Jennifer Lawrence’s performance. Taking her post-Oscar fame publicly in her stride since she last picked up her bow, the 23-year-old actress has grown up as fast as her character. As mopey as the teenage love triangle almost gets, it’s the boys that do all the moping. Well on her way to becoming one of the greatest sci-fi heroines since Ripley, the avenger of District 12 is as undefined by her hidden vulnerability as she is by her inner strength; anchoring the series with an emotional realism that upstages everyone else in the film...Yes, the Capitol still looks like the Emerald City, the big spinning thing in the arena comes straight out of Total Wipeout and the film’s cutting edge is dulled down and camped up whenever things get too gnarly. Some obvious concessions are made to appease the book’s devout fans too (At 146 minutes, it seems like they tried to fit every bloody page in), but it’s hard to see how anyone could be too disappointed with the incendiary results.
Then again, if the rousing finale of Catching Fire is anything to go by, Mockingjay is going to burn the playhouse down…" 4 STARS
Odeon Cinema Reviews -
"It stuck so close to the book. Everything looks amazing and the characters are so strong! I had no disappointments and the ending has set everything up for part 1 and 2 of Mockingjay."
"Plot great. Context great. Characters great. But,the ending was shocking. Over all I would give it a 7/10."
"Fives stars, loved it, very good adaptation of the book. Make sure you see this film and rent the first Hunger Games if you haven't seen it. Original and a deep underlying message about Capitalism."
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