The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Our search for the Best Film of 2013 is now underway, and today we look at one of the best blockbusters to grace the b big screen over the last twelve months.
We have been treated some fine films in this genre this year, but it is The Hunger Games: Catching Fire that really has stood out… it makes it into our countdown at number nine.
Catching Fire is the second film in The Hunger Games series and comes over a year after the success of the first. The movie picks up with Katniss and Peeta embarking on their victory tour and continuing their lives after surviving The Hunger Games.
However, everything is turned upside down once more as they are thrown back into the arena to compete in the Quarter Quell.
Right from the opening moment of Catching Fire you feel a greater intensity and that the stakes are considerably higher. The first hour of the movie really is riveting as director Francis Lawrence and the writers delve into the politics of Panem.
Lawrence is new to the director’s chair and he is not in any rush to get the Arena scenes, he wants to show the struggle, the difficulties and the horrors that face people living in the districts of Panem; it really does show the audience why Katinss and co are willing to fight so hard for change.
The politics of Panem really do feature heavily throughout the novels, and it is fantastic to see that they have not been forgotten about or skipped over as it made the transition onto the big screen.
Because Lawrence has delved into the themes of loyalty, honour, freedom and sacrifice n Catching Fire, this second film feels more substantial and weighty that the first; don’t get me wrong I was a big fan of the first film.
Once Katniss and Peeta get into the Quarter Quell arena it really is everyone for themselves as the tension and the action increases scene by scene; not to mention it looks totally fantastic.
However, all this is not possible without the fantastic central performance from Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. Since we saw her take on this role for the first time, she has gone on to win a Best Actress Oscar and become one of the most in demand stars in Hollywood.
Lawrence really does embody the strength, fear and uncertainly of this character as she is once again plunged into a world that she is desperate to get away from. Lawrence is just everything that I had hoped to see as Katniss was brought to the big screen and she is the perfect heroine.
A terrific cast has been assembled, as the likes of Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth are all back; we are set to see much more of Hemsworth as Gale in the next two instalments.
But there are some fascinating new additions as we are introduced to Sam Claflin and Jena Malone as Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason; both of them seem perfectly cast and I am excited to see these characters developed further over the next couple of films.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a bigger, bolder, darker and more complex film than the first as we move towards the epic and nail biting conclusion of this book series.
The fantastic news is that Francis Lawrence will remain in the director’s chair for the final two instalments, and I am excited to see what he does with Mockingjay: which is being split into two films.
Sadly, we are going to have to wait until the back end of next year to see Mockingjay: Part 1... However, I do get the feeling that it is going to be well worth it.
Tagged in The Hunger Games