Over the past few years, Hollywood has been searching the book shelves to find the next big young-adult series to adapt for the screen. Some have found success, such as The Twilight Saga (somehow) and the Harry Potter series, and others have stumbled, like The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The Host and Beautiful Creatures.
When The Hunger Games was released last year, the success came from an anchoring performance from Jennifer Lawrence, an impressive supporting cast and a darkly intriguing storyline with political themes and satirical jabs at reality television. While it was an admirable book-to-film translation, it had its share of flaws, such as too much handheld-camera movements and questionable special effects.
With the much-anticipated second installment, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, director Francis Lawrence (no relationship to Jennifer) is working with a more generous budget and the widening scope of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian trilogy. Everything about the movie is bigger, including the story, special effects and the hugely entertaining supporting cast. It’s a rare thing that a sequel is better than its original, and considering how we’re dealing with a young-adult series, a sub-genre that can be hit-or-miss for the big screen, this is a considerable achievement for Catching Fire.
After winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are dealing with their new status as celebrities. While traveling through Panem’s 12 districts and Capitol for their victory tour, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) forces Katniss to convince the public that her and Peeta’s love for each other is real, even though Katniss knows that it was all an act to win the games. After signs of rebellion are spotted amongst the districts, Snow conspires with the new head gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), to figure out a way to stop the rebellion from spreading.
It just so happens that this is the year of the third Quarter Quell, a special edition of the Hunger Games that is held every 25 years. This year, the tributes will be selected from past victors to compete, and Katniss and Peeta are sent back to the Captiol to train for the games. While there, the two will need to distinguish their allies from their enemies if they are to survive the heightened dangers of the arena.
Jennifer Lawrence is a bright example of an actress who has the versatility to perform exceedingly well in both blockbusters and smaller fare, such as last year’s indie film, Silver Linings Playbook. She’s the sort of talented actress that many film adaptations of young-adult novels wish they had. Lawrence gets it all right, from Katniss’ moments of calmness to despair to uncertainty to frustration. Her character is put through the emotional mill, and Lawrence successfully conveys everything that Katniss is feeling.
The film’s final shot focuses on Katniss, right after she receives some troubling news that acts as a cliffhanger for the next film. The camera is on her as she experiences confusion, sadness and fury, an emotional buildup that will drive Katniss to further action as she prepares to take on the Capitol.
Josh Hutcherson's character is given a little more depth in this film than in the previous one. He has more time with Katniss, allowing him to express the caring side of his character. There is more interaction between the two that shows their protectiveness of each other, compared to the first film where Peeta was separated from Katniss for certain chunks of the story.
Another factor that elevates this film beyond previous young-adult adaptations is the stellar supporting cast, and much of which returns from the first film. Most notable are Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, the colorful (in both senses of the word) Capitol interviewer; Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Katniss and Peeta’s bubbly escort to the Capitol, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, the alcoholic, yet knowledgeable, mentor to the two tributes.
Donald Sutherland is positively menacing as President Snow, and becomes a much bigger character in this second installment. His scene with Katniss in the beginning gives him more screen time than he had with all of his scenes combined in the first film. His stern glare and deep, sinister voice make him a dark joy to watch.
The new cast members validate that they all fit their parts, especially in their introductory scenes. There is Sam Claflin as the smooth-talking, trident-wielding Finnick; Jena Malone as the brass, ax-swinging Johanna, and Jeffrey Wright as the cunning scientist-type, Beetee. Philip Seymour Hoffman is terrifically sly as the new gamemaker, and the scenes with him and Snow conversing are highlights. Even Patrick St. Esprit makes an impression in his one big scene as the cruel Commander Thread.
The screenplay by the talented team of Simon Beaufoy and Michael DeBruyn (a pseudonym for Michael Arndt) is divided up into an even, three-act structure, going from the victory tour to the pre-game events to the actual games, with neither segment feeling rushed. Each act of the film is well-paced and carefully builds on what's to come in the following act and gets a chance to bask in the bigger scope. Although the film follows similar plot points to the original (i.e. the tribute parade, training, the interviews and the games), it still works because of the film’s bigger-and-better feel.
The story’s love triangle gets bothersome when it comes up, particularly because it sometimes makes Katniss unlikeable for using Peeta for her own gain. Seeing as how Gale (Liam Hemsworth) is more prominent in this installment, the triangle is featured more, feeling rather out of place with the more serious issues that are happening. Despite Lawrence’s typically strong performance, the way Katniss leads them both on can cause some disliking of her character. The love triangle is a weak link in an otherwise interesting story.
Director Francis Lawrence, having helmed I Am Legend, again shows that he can still pull off big special-effects sequences. One interesting difference between Catching Fire and I Am Legend is that for the latter, he was working with a cast of one for most of the movie; whereas for Catching Fire, he is working with big special effects again, but with a cast that’s significantly bigger than that of I Am Legend, and he manages to let everyone have their moments.
One of the main improvements for this installment is the camerawork. Lawrence uses cinematography by Jo Willems to employ a much steadier camera than what Tom Stern used in the previous installment. This allows the viewer to become more absorbed in the action more easily, rather than having to dart their eyes across the screen in trying to keep up with what’s happening.
This is Lawrence’s first big-budget film in six years since he made I Am Legend, and he has a handle on both visuals and characterization. It's because of this that Catching Fire almost makes you forget about the first Hunger Games film, and has it appear amateurish by comparison.
Lawrence will return to direct the adaptation of the third book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, which will be made into two movies. Part 1 will be released in November 2014 and Part 2 will arrive November 2015. Although it’s the least exciting book of the series, in my opinion, his handle on the source material for Catching Fire gives me hope that he can end the series on a strong note.
There were some pacing issues with Catching Fire (the novel), as it had some segments that tended to drag, however, the pairing of Lawrence’s vision and Beaufoy and DeBruyn’s screenplay fix the book’s narrative lulls. As a result, each of the three acts has an acceptable length, and each one still captures plenty of details in the process.
With the first two installments behind us, the brutal games are now over, and we're ready to storm the Capitol.
Final grade: B+
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