🟩 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) Review - Reevaluating... | Film Waffle

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) directed by Francis Lawrence

Again Lionsgate with the revealing trailers.

Call it a carryover from my most recent read-through of the books, but this was a great adaptation of the second novel. 

I covered this in my review of the Catching Fire book, but I've been on something of a reevaluation kick after spending a decade and a half believing it was a major step down from the first Hunger Games book.

I think the general mood from the fandom is that the second book is the best, but I've always reveled in being the contrarian. "The OG Hunger Games is better!" I don't know anymore. And especially watching this movie, I don't know. Because both movie adaptations I've reviewed thus far I have thoroughly enjoyed.

Quick Summary

Around a year after Katniss and Peeta are controversially crowned victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, the former tributes are plunged into fresh drama.

Their win was seen as an act of defiance against the Capitol and its iron grip on the Districts. The talk of rebellion is heating up.

As the 75th Hunger Games dawns on the horizon, Katniss must do what she can to pacify the districts and shrug off her persona as the spiritual leader of the rebellion.

Story & Characters

We begin in much the same way as the first movie. Katniss and Gale are bouncing around the woods, looking incredibly sharp considering they are from the poorest district in the nation. Katniss must've bought our boy some new threads with her victor coins.

When Katniss tries to undo President Snow's Thanksgiving pardon by shooting a wild turkey, she flashes back to Marvel. You know. That dick from District 1 that she gave the ol' Wilkes Boothe in the first Hunger Games. If only she'd murdered the Marvel Universe back in 2013. The world would be in a much better place.

In any case, Homegirl experiences the flashback and starts freaking out like she's a real Housewife.

"Let's talk about the husband dead tributes."

Turns out killing someone can give you some pretty nasty nightmares. TIL.

Blah. Blah. Blah. 

Gale and Katniss kiss. It feels really awkward. Even more so with how long it was, like Christ, Gale. I love you man, but she clearly isn't into you like that.

President Snow shows up to be shady because wtf else is he gonna do. He tells Katniss that she needs to convince everyone in Panem that her "defiance" in the previous Hunger Games was a result of her being crazy in love with Peeta. 

Great strategy, that. Her teenage behind sucked at it in the last movie, but sure let's try things again because fuck it, why not?

And so Katniss and Peeta go on their victory tour. It goes terribly. The two fake lovebirds leave a trail of devastation in their wake. 

Katniss and Peeta will be reading their speeches to a silent crowd in every district, acting like everything is fine. Meanwhile, you've got peacekeepers beating people on the sidelines. Screaming for help. Screaming in agony. 

Straight faces, everyone.

Katniss and Peeta voted for Bush in 2000, didn't you know?

Before you know it fire is catching (which is a line I don't think is ever actually said in the Catching Fire novel or the movie, but whatever), and the rebels are going real apeshit. 

So what harebrained scheme do President Snow and his new Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee concoct to keep the Districts down? Why, another Hunger Games, of course!

I mentioned in my review of the book that Catching Fire represents the aging from young teen to a more grown-up YA fiction. This is perhaps best demonstrated in the first exchange between Finnick and Katniss.

"What happened to the pretty little girl dresses?" - Finnick

"I outgrew them." - Katniss

Such a great exchange. In fact, it's even better than how this plays out in the books. This is because we don't have Suzanne exposition dumping in the middle of this conversation. /sigh

And while we're on the topic of characters, Finnick and Joanna are fan favorites for a reason. Aside from the fact that both are smoking hot, they also pair well with the existing cast. They add charm and rebelliousness without the lingering teenage angst that Katniss and Peeta bring. So kudos to Sam Claflin and Jena Malone respectively. 

I remember that when casting was being announced people thought Finnick would go to Garrett Hedlund. I thought, "Oh cool, the dude from Tron: Legacy. That was a fun movie." Nope. Turns out it went to an Englishman instead. Bro.

Americans are letting the side down, I'm telling ya. I suppose it all worked out considering Claflin was, admittedly, damn good in his role.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman brought a different side to Plutarch Heavensbee than what I'd imagined while reading the book. I had pictured a mild-mannered Santa Claus. Instead we got a smug "We need mass torture in the streets!" brother-in-law. 

But, to be honest, I kinda like this rendition? Hell yeah, Phillip! Give us that Dumbledore energy.

Jennifer Lawrence is bringing her A-game as Katniss. You can really feel that grown-up transition taking place within her individual role.

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta is there. My hate for Bread Boy blinds me. My ability to objectively evaluate his performance is gone. I think it was good?

Haymitch and Effie were both good. Cinna basically shows up to get unalived. It's sad in the moment, but it's hilarious looking back in retrospect. Whoops. Spoilers.

And now for some miscellaneous niggles I have.

I've always thought it was weird that Katniss wants Peeta to live, but she selects the weakest team members. That's a stupid plan, right? Girl, shouldn't you want strongman careers on your side if you want Peeta to live? 

Or maybe she is hoping to collect all the weaklings in one group. Thus, when they have to turn on each other, Peeta will be the strongest left. Omg. Katniss. Absolute mastermind. I take everything back.

When Peeta finds out about Katniss's conspiracy with President Snow, he angrily proclaims, "I have family too! People that I need to protect!" 

This sentiment is not echoed later on. Instead he reverts to his mentality from the first film. He believes that no one in District 12 cares for him, and he has no loved ones. With Katniss dead, he would have "Nobody else that I care about."

So which is it? Does the man find purpose in protecting his family? Or is he without purpose, surviving only to help Katniss?

Maybe he said the former to get back at her? I suppose that's the charitable way of looking at it. It's boiled-over frustration for playing with his feelings in the last Hunger Games. More likely, though, it's a plot hole.

The romance feels like it comes out of left field in this movie. Suddenly Katniss starts feeling romantically attached to Peeta. I get that being put in a life-threatening situation can bring people together, but she didn't get emotionally attached during the 74th Hunger Games, so I don't see a compelling reason as to why she would here.

But. Whatever. I guess it kind of works. It's not like Katniss's attraction to Peeta is well-explored in the novels either.

Speaking of which, I want to end this section by going over some missed opportunities from the novel that, much like the previous film, I don't think the adaptations capitalized upon.

My major gripe in The Hunger Games movie review was that it did not translate the nuance of the first book onto the screen, even when it would have been easy to do so. That is also present here, but I was to lump everything together under the banner of "failure to effectively foreshadow."

Take Plutarch. He has a watch that hints at his motives later in the book. It flashes with the Mockingjay symbol. It would have been a simple addition to add a layer of mystery to the plot. A secret symbol of resistance? Or a trap to lure her in? Absent in this film.

Similarly, two characters that do not appear in this movie are Twill and Bonnie. These two appear early in the novel and are runaways from District 8 who are inspired by the growing rebellion. Katniss encounters them during a hunt in the woods and learns valuable knowledge about how dissent is spreading within the districts.

Yes, it would have been a long, drawn-out scene in an already lengthy screentime. It was largely replaced by the montage of the victory tour in the movie. Katniss and Peeta giving speeches in the various districts and seeing dissidents in the crowds get the shit beaten out of them. 

However, Twill and Bonnie also provide book Katniss with another tidbit of information. Information that the victory tour scenes did not provide. There is a District 13.

So, again. That would have been some nice foreshadowing. Instead District 13 is a piece of lore that emerges from our hero's asscracks toward the end of the film.

Not ideal.

Mechanics & Structure

BLUE. Why is everything in District 12 so blue? 

Contrast it with the harsh light of the first film. It ain't Twilight blue, don't be silly. But still. Like. Wow. 

Maybe it's to symbolize the rift between Katniss and her two lover boys in the aftermath of the first film? I can't comprehend blue being symbolic of the simmering rebellion, so that's my best guess. The icy relations that the first entry ended on. Maybe I'm reading too far into this. Let's chalk it up to the snow and be done with it.

The Hunger Games utilized silence during action scenes and a spastic,  amphetamines cam to convey chaos and make the audience nauseous. This director, Mr. Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer Lawrence), chose a different direction. 

The sequel is much calmer. Intimate, one might say. There is moody music with a woman chanting as a recurring motif. Some tense, action beats too. Also there are no more stupid hallucinations.

Personally, I like these changes. It feels more... mature. Less edgy. Thus it fits with the updated tone.

I thought the costume design was fun. Like how Katniss and Peeta get dolled up for the part at President Snow's mansion. This is the only time where Katniss dabbles into proper wacky Capitol attire. No, the Caesar interviews and chariot ride don't count.

It was a nice touch. After all, this is when Katniss is still conspiring with President Snow to pacify the districts. It's a symbolic nod to her being on the Capitol's side.

Random insert here. The mechanics of Joanna's introduction are absolutely hilarious. Apparently Jena Malone did the striptease in a real hotel, and Jennifer Lawrence was added in post. Wowza. The power of editing right there. I never noticed. Even playing back the scene, I can hardly notice anything.

Conclusion

Sid Meier's Rule of Thirds is a commonly cited video game maxim. It states that a good sequel should contain the following: 

• 1/3 returning content
• 1/3 improved content
• 1/3 new content

Originally, I don't think I appreciated how well the Catching Fire story (both novel and film) held to this rule. 

It does reintroduce fan favorite characters. It does reinvent the core Hunger Games loop. It does introduce new personalities and challenges that our updated cast must face.

I understand now why the second entry in this series is so beloved.

I get that I nag a lot, but this was a great follow-up to the first Hunger Games. Yeah, it was missing some elements from the novel, and the romance was a bit weird. Overall though, the runtime flew past. 

The action was on point, and the actors were absolutely killing it in their roles. They elevated this way beyond what it should have been. So the Catching Fire adaptation gets a solid thumbs up from me.

Also, apologies again for the late post. Been away from my computer for the past week. Hopefully, I'll be back on track come next week!

🟩 Rating: 8/10