Hunger Games: Catching Fire review

Brutal, poignant, fun, yet strangely similar to the first instalment – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire adds a whole new depth to the franchise. ★★★★☆

The 75th Hunger Games. Photo: Lionsgate

THE HUNGER Games sequel opened in cinemas last month to equal acclaim and success as its predecessor. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson return as our two favourite tributes from District 12, who, after making it out of the last ‘games’ alive, are living in fear.

Our protagonists are not in demand trained assassins after the last games. They’re guilt-ridden, traumatized and lovelorn, living a depressing and unfulfilling existence. And then they get forced to relive their worst nightmare.

The glimpses into the other districts are appreciated and enlightening; particularly the poignant turn in District 11, where Katniss unintentionally begins a countrywide riot.

The film’s start, middle and end are expectedly similar to the first. In fact, it’s almost like a mirror image; there’s the pre-games ramble at Katniss’ home district, followed by the twists and turns in the games arena itself, and then the post games events to finish off.

The first instalment was met with much shock at the cruel, inhumane scenes of teen-killing-teen-with-bare-hands. Many complained it was ‘too realistic’. And this violence that shadowed the first film, forcing many to question the ‘12’ rating, still exists in the sequel. If anything, there is a fiercer concentration on the fantasy, what with possessed killer apes and poisonous gas, taking the violence away from realism and rooted deeply in the fantasy sci-fi genre.

Many characters seem intriguing yet underdeveloped; Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Plutarch Heavensbee, the new gamemaker who seems as sadistic as he is intimidating, does not really get the depth one would hope throughout the film’s running length. Conversely, new addition ‘rival’ tributes Jena Malone and Sam Clafin as Johanna and Finnick are welcomed in to the good looking, under 30 crowd.

And the ending; you’ll hardly have time to digest the big twist (which of course I will not reveal) and the dust only just begins to settle when the end credits begin and you’re left with the bleak realisation: you’ll have to wait over a year to find out what happens.

Will it be worth the wait? The third and fourth films in the franchise, which have reportedly begun filming, are what everyone should be looking forward to most – and this film certainly sets high expectations for them.