The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

November 21, 2013

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It’s taken until the end of November, but viewers finally get the action movie of the year in “Catching Fire,” the second installment of “The Hunger Games” saga, based on Suzanne Collins’ novels.

Not only is this epic sequel better than its 2012 predecessor, it’s also better than its source, book two of Collins’ series. In print, “Catching Fire” saw the breathless pacing of “The Hunger Games” start to wane, but on screen, it picks up incredibly, as there’s never a dull moment under the direction of Francis Lawrence, who took the reins from the last film’s helmer, Gary Ross.

It’s safe to assume that this dread-laden follow-up benefited greatly from both a decreased release rush and an increased budget, as everything from the lavish costumes to the upper-crust Panem Capitol are suddenly richly realized. All the while, the film’s emotion hinges on the breakdown of that fabulized veneer, which exists to distract oppressed citizens from the horror of their children being sent to die for sport.

Thanks to the defiant act that made both of them winners last time ‘round, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are on President Snow’s (Donald Sutherland) naughty list, as their bravery has galvanized an uprising. Ripple effects are seen pulsating through every character, including Effie (Elizabeth Banks), the Capitol’s public relations puppet, and Johanna (Jena Malone), a spitfire and former Hunger Games victor who’s none too thrilled that Snow has organized another bloodbath, pinning every previous winner, young and old, against one another.

If the dramatic core of the first film was the notion of kids killing kids, the legitimizer of every possible pitfall in “Catching Fire” is the primal urge to survive. It trumps the familiar love triangle that might have hogged the spotlight a la “Twilight,” and it’s the basis for the boiling revolution that’s starting to bubble over in various Panem Districts. And leading us through it is warrior woman Lawrence, who ultimately reminds one, with a heated glance, how rare it is to find a female, in a strong leading role, in a popular film this good.