We watched The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on its 2nd showing night (and I'm only writing about it now?!) with free tickets courtesy of Nuffnang Philippines (thanks! thanks!).
I haven't read the book so I was a little surprised why the first movie was much anticipated, not knowing that it was based from a very popular cult-followed novel. When we finally saw it much much later, I thought it was really great, one of those movies with a good solid story and an effective cast, lead by the lovable Jennifer Lawrence. The characters were played out well, each artist seem to fit the role, and I really enjoyed the flamboyant make-up and costumes (reminiscent of Star Wars), and the different personalities that tied the whole story together.
When the sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, hit the cinemas, I wasn't sure if we'll watch it or not. Despite a nice first outing, I still wasn't converted as a member of the fan club, nor was my husband, so you can say we weren't exactly thrilled. But then came a Nuffnang movie contest and thought I'd give it a try again (after joining 2 of their previous contests and lost). Luckily, I was one of the 100 winners, which gave us a reason to go see it.
The second installment of The Hunger Games opened to the lives of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark after they both won the killing contest. In the first movie, their tandem - or should I say "loveteam" because there seemed to be a brewing affection between the two (at least, it was true for Peeta) - broke the rules of the game, which requires that only one winner, the last surviving individual, will be proclaimed at the end. But Katniss refused to kill Peeta, Peeta refused to kill Katniss and both decided that they'll just commit suicide by eating poison berries. Apparently (not sure how it was explained in the book), having two winners instead of having no winner is more favorable for the Capitol so they concluded the game and declared both Katniss and Peeta as victors.
But President Snow see Katniss as a threat and a possible key figure in a rebellion. This, along with the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale is the focal point of the film. As I said, I find the first half of the movie slow, but still necessary as it builds up the story. A number of new and interesting characters are introduced, but of course, a handful of the old favorites are still there and are equally delightful.
The pacing picked up during the second half when the actual games started. I think how the game was portrayed here is better than how it was on the prequel. Lots of exciting and heart-pounding actions, new dangers and a better game plot (I love the clock idea). Being someone who hasn't read the book, everything that transpires in the game made me hold my breath, bracing to see what will happen next.
Fans of the book claimed that this movie is a faithful adaptation, but whether that's the case or not, I believe the film is strong on its own account. Everything seemed seamless, even the character development, which a lot of high-profile movies suffer from, was very well done. It is easily one of the best films of the year (and we've had a lot of good ones this year).
What I really like about the movie is the twist (which, of course caught me by surprise because I didn't know that was coming) and how the story, just when it was really heating up, was ended abruptly, leaving the audience wanting for more (which means, that yes, we'll be watching the next installments).
Overall, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire provides a great cinematic experience. If you like a combination of heart (love and drama), intelligent story, thrilling actions, political undertones and enjoyable characters - The Hunger Games movie franchise is something that you should see.
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