"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" Review

It feels as though we've seen countless adaptations of young adult novels this past year — the most recent of which was Ender's Game. All of the protagonists in these stories are forced to make hard choices, but in Catching Fire those choices feels real. While Harrison Ford shows up for nothing more than a paycheck in Ender's Game, the stars of Catching Fire help to legitimize the inherent goofiness of its story.

Fresh off her big win at the Oscars for Best Actress, Jennifer Lawrence returns to The Hunger Games with other Oscar-caliber actors, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, who pops up as the new gamekeeper Plutarch Heavensbee.

As Katniss starts to realize the repercussions of her actions of the first film, Lawrence seems more up to the task of carrying a big-budget franchise. In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta Mellark (Northern Kentucky's own Josh Hutcherson) find themselves dodging both the heat from President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the growing unrest among the districts while on their victory tour.

It's this unrest - this threat of revolution - which damns Katniss and company back to the arena for the third Quarter Quell. 

What sets this apart from Gary Ross's mopey, Appalachian take on the first film is that Catching Fire feels much more streamlined. Gone are the days of the shaky cam and gone are the headaches that came along with it. While the film's running time clocks in at nearly two and a half hours, every action moves the plot forward.

Director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Water for Elephants) feels well-suited to handle the sheer grandiosity of some of the sets and characters, including a Gatsby-esque party at the President’s home and the vibrant, Candy Land chic of Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).

While screenwriters Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours) and Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) pack the script with a heavy dramatic punch, they still relish in poking fun at many of the ancillary characters.

But this time, Banks' Trinket and Woody Harrelson's Haymitch Abernathy feel as if they're in on the joke, making their comic relief even funnier. The cast of supporting characters are rounded out with loads of series newcomers, including Jeffery Wright as Beetee, Jena Malone as Johanna Mason and a middling Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair.

And for the record, if judging on acting prowess alone, I have to go Team Gale. Liam Hemsworth brushes up on his American accent and becomes a stronger presence in Katniss's life in this sequel whereas Hutcherson has felt awkward as Peeta since the last movie. If you think about it, he's kind of the proverbial "bitch" in this story - always conforming to what the Capitol wants him to say and always getting gravely injured in the arena to emphasize Katniss's badass streak as she bravely defends/revives him. That, plus the fact that Lawrence is nearly half a head taller than Hutcherson in real life (heels, schmeels) doesn't help his credibility in my eyes. 

Moviegoers will have to wait until next Thanksgiving (and the Thanksgiving after that) to find out what becomes of Katniss and Peeta. But, in honor of the holiday, I'm thankful I get to spend another couple of hours with my friends in Panem.

9/10