I was pretty bummed that we had a severe winter storm blow in yesterday, which meant that my sister and I had to cancel our movie night to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Honestly, seeing it all over Twitter, Facebook, etc. made the whole thing even worse, so when a break came today from the weather, I took the chance and headed out over an hour to see the movie that's already set a domestic opening record. After sitting through about 20 minutes of pre-show commercials, then at least 6 previews, the movie FINALLY started. And warning, this review comes with spoilers for those of you who haven't yet seen the film. I'll spare no details.
The movie opens with Katniss silently sitting on the bank of a lake her father used to take her to. There is no music, no sound, nothing. It's completely silent for the first minute of the film. Gale soon joins her, and we quickly realize just how much the Games have affected Katniss. Not only has it affected her relationship with Gale (more on that in a second), it has changed how she regards things around her. When she shoots at a turkey, she thinks she's shooting Marvel again. Katniss completely loses it, ever remaining on a delicate mental balance for pretty much the remainder of the film (probably pretty true to the book). When I say it's affected her relationship with Gale, it's because it seems as if a lot of the scenes between the two of them are incredibly strained and awkward. Maybe this is the result of some choppily written dialogue (even more on that later), but regardless, their scenes seem to be strained.
I digress. THG is the only film I've seen Jennifer Lawrence in, but there is a reason Lawrence is an Academy Award nominated and winning actress. As one of the reviews on mockingjay.net said, Catching Fire showcases her incredibly diverse talent. Katniss is broken, vulnerable, strong, brave, etc. I think perhaps the best moment for Jennifer in the film, for me personally, was her District 11 speech. This was the first (but not the last time) in the film where I just couldn't keep from crying. The acting was superb in that scene, not just from Jennifer but from Josh Hutcherson. The dialogue was so well written, and the entire scene captured the heart of the books. It's so rare to watch a movie but be able to feel the emotional intensity on screen as if it were your own. The buildup to the execution of the man in District 11: excruciating. You know it's coming (if you've read the book), but it's the trigger that I think makes Katniss choose what she'll do from there on out. Lawrence delivers another exceptional performance throughout the movie. I think she even more perfectly captures Katniss in this film than in the previous one. Not that she didn't, but she proves why she was the perfect choice for the character.
Elizabeth Banks. In the first film, it appears as if Effie has no soul. Effie is just a shallow, vain person who cares about nothing but the latest trends and fashions. Not so in this film. I LOVE Effie in this movie. She is everything from the book and more. My heart just broke when Effie said goodbye to Katniss and Peeta, and I nearly cried when she pulled Katniss' name out of the bowl. The entire reaping scene, I was just thinking how much more I loved Effie in this movie than in the first one. Banks did an incredible job portraying those different facets of Effie, and I think that overall, it made Effie a more likable character.
Josh Hutcherson. I didn't think I could really like the film version of Peeta...but I did in CF. We get to see the many layers of Peeta, the one Collins wrote. I LOVE that we get to see that Peeta in more detail this time! I actually came away being more on Team Peeta than I was before. In the book I'm always sorry for him because he seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to Katniss, and that was carried over into the film.
Woody Harrelson. Can the man get any more perfect at playing Haymitch? My goodness. Haymitch was even more snarky in this film than previously, but that's completely fitting within his character. And Lenny Kravitz? Well...he did a good job for the minimal amount of time Cinna appeared. I felt slighted that we didn't get to see much of Cinna in this movie, a shame since he dies before Mockingjay (at least, in the books). That was one scene I was dreading the most, but also looking forward to. It's so critical to Katniss' character that it had to happen. I'm glad the filmmakers kept it in.
Now, onto the newest characters to join the club. I'm still kind of out on Sam Claflin as Finnick; I can't decide if he is suitable or not. I'd probably have to see the movie again to really decide if I like him. However, Jena Malone? Her Johanna was SO true to the book! I didn't like that they had her yelling bleeped F words (I feel like the cussing in this film is/was very unnecessary as there's none in the book(s)), but I loved that they showed how much she hated the Capitol too. And the elevator scene? That was probably the best moment for Johanna, not to mention, I died laughing at Katniss' reaction(s). It was priceless, and I'm glad they made that scene better. Oh yeah, and I'm glad they kept in that brief scene of Chaff kissing Katniss; that was a laugh out loud moment, and it was funny to see Katniss caught off guard. And Mags? Who doesn't just fall in love with Mags the second you see her on screen? Even though she didn't say a word, she was Mags. She (Lynn Cohen) was the perfect choice for the character. Sad that she died! As for the others, they were all kinda 'eh' for me. Wasn't really blown away by any of them or underwhelmed. They were just there. I expected to feel some sort of emotion over Wiress' death, but I didn't. I felt like that may have been a miss on the part of Francis Lawrence, but it really wasn't a big deal in the scope of things. And just as a random note: what about the guy playing Thread? Perfectly cast for just about 5 minutes of screen time!
now, some things I didn't really like that much. I didn't care for the way Katniss/Gale scenes were redone. I felt like they lost their impact, and maybe it's the book purist in me, but I just wasn't happy with the Katniss/Gale scenes in general. There were also some things done that were taken out of their context from the book (ex. Ripper; she's mentioned and seen, but there's no explanation of who she is to Katniss), but I guess overall, there's more context to this film than its predecessor.
In short, Catching Fire outshines The Hunger Games just by one thing: better scripts. The dialogue, while awkwardly executed in several areas, is spot on. Instead of being Francis Lawrence's story, it's Suzanne Collins' story that is seen on the big screen. This is something lacking from the first film, as I have always felt that it was more of Ross' story than what was written. It's refreshing to have a director who clearly cares about the material as much as the fans do, and it assures me that he can do an equally good job on Mockingjay 1 and 2. Unlike some directors who clearly have no understanding, respect, or appreciation for the material they're adapting (like, ahem, a certain Michael Apted), Lawrence demonstrates that he respects the material/fans. Many of the scenes adapted could have been deemed unnecessary, but they remain. What few changes have been made were made probably because of time and streamlining. Truthfully, if they didn't make any changes at all, this film would have taken much longer than 2 1/2 hours. The last few minutes of this movie, before Katniss discovers the truth about D12, contains some of the most beautiful cinematography found in this franchise so far. The montage of Katniss being lifted into the hovercraft: exactly like the book and just as satisfying. The film ends with Katniss learning of the destruction of District 12; she turns to the camera, tears streaming out of her eyes. Then, the final shot: Katniss takes a breath, grits her teeth, and you can see truly she has now decided the Capitol must go. All of the anger, bitterness, hurt, frustration, and emotion Katniss feels toward the Capitol is all summed up in about 10 seconds of her looking solidly at us, the audience. As the credits fade to black, we see the Hunger Games logo of the Mockingjay, which catches fire and becomes the Catching Fire Mockingjay, which then turns into something else entirely (I haven't decided if this is their interpretation of Mockingjay's mockingjay, but someone else is free to give their opinion on that), at the last second or two of the Catching Fire logo transformation, we hear the infamous mockingjay 4 note call, giving the audience a spine chilling feeling of what's to come in films 3 and 4. I had goosebumps as the credits began to roll, knowing it's going to be a full year before we see the start of the war between the rebels and the Capitol.
If Francis Lawrence can repeat Catching Fire's heart and soul with both Mockingjay films, I have no doubt that fans of the books will be satisfied that Collins' work is finally being given the film treatment it deserves. Catching Fire *almost* makes up for the first film's shortfalls. On another note: I'm still not really happy with the music, soundtrack or inspirational soundtrack. It's not what I'd like to hear for the franchise, but I guess we're stuck with it.
My rating: 4.5/5 stars.
P.S. I feel like I'm not doing the movie justice, but I'm starting to forget everything I wanted to talk about, so maybe when I see it again, I'll write a better review.
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