Tick tock, tick tock. The monstrous clock strikes 12 and Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, is in danger. Real danger. It is only a matter of time until everyone and everything she has so dauntlessly fought for will take a turn for the worst.
Of course, I won’t give away the reason why I referred to a clock, for the meat and potatoes of the game scheme are not mine to tell. I encourage you to watch the film to find out for yourself.
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” makes a headlong dive into the seething rebellion of the Districts that Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) unintentionally incited with her act of defiance at the 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss and her co-Hunger Games champion Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) have become celebrities as the star-crossed lovers from District 12, but the fight is far from over. To punish Katniss’ insubordination, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) announces the Quarter Quell, a fierce victor-to-victor faceoff in a much more brutally designed arena. What ensues is an intense sequence of events as Katniss comes to accept and realize her symbolic role as the mockingjay.
I absolutely admire J-Law. The depth of emotion she conveys through her eyes and body language is amazing. Her character once again blows the apple cleanly out of the pig’s mouth, amazing both the moviegoers and the residents of the 12 Districts. The 23-year-old Oscar winner has clearly stepped up her game as an actress since becoming the archer heroine of the screen adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s bestselling “Hunger Games” trilogy.
In “Catching Fire,” Lawrence rediscovers Katniss Everdeen and allows her to break free from the constraints set by the novel. Katniss is undoubtedly an idolized figure, much more the leading symbol of a kindling rebellion, but that is not where the final knot is secured. Unlike those unreachable heroes and heroines of all-time favorites such as “The Lord of the Rings,” Lawrence remodels the prototype into an approachable figure by portraying Katniss as a rather reluctant celebrity who simply wants to survive and protect her family and friends.
Yet if there is one thing I hate about the whole series, however exhilarating the films may be, it is the brutality behind it all. Sure, I understand Collins wants to teach us something—the horrors that power, wealth, and mindless amusement can bring upon innocent teenagers. But really, the excessive death and destruction that is the unifying backdrop of these novels is quite unnecessary to convey a moral theme, whatever it may be.
Aside from such shortcomings, the film is worth the full 146 minutes of your time. New director Francis Lawrence does a remarkable job of presenting the “kids killing kids” concept in a far more mature manner than its prequel. The director also manages to present the intense action sequences most skillfully, with none of that handheld camera shaking that director Gary Ross utilized in “The Hunger Games.”
In addition to the boost in the production, both returning and newly-joined stars step up their game to create a viewing experience that is significantly better than the first. Elizabeth Banks is terrific as the eccentric Effie Trinket and Sutherland is better than ever as the evil President Snow. Fresh recruits, Sam Claflin as District Four’s Finnick Odair and Jena Malone as District Seven’s Johanna Mason surpass all expectations.
Will Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, ever deliver herself and her allies from the unimaginable menaces of the arena? Tick tock, tick tock. The clock is ticking away, louder than ever, and you have yet to find out her fate.
