THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

The story of the sequel delves a bit more into the sociopolitical condition of the twelve districts of Panem. Although Catching Fire is based on a Tween novel series, the filmmakers haven’t shied away from including underlying themes of autocratic dictatorship, civil dissension and impending rebellion. But the plot points in this movie simply rehash anecdotes from past films such as Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), Land of the Blind (2006) and not to mention Battle Royale (2000). One hour and fifteen minutes of showcasing the bleak poverty of the districts juxtaposed with the gaudy extravagance of the Capitol is a bit excessive, especially when the target audience is the A. D. D. Generation. However the start of the Quarter Quell game provides the much needed action even though it’s a bit too reminiscent of the first film. The ensemble of actors give decent performances but the most outstanding is Jennifer Lawrence, probably because she’s the lead and the fact that her character arc undergoes noticeable changes. This is essentially a better movie than the first one due to the edgier action, the special effects during the arena scenes and the sheer spectacle of Panem, its inhabitants and their wardrobe. But my biggest gripe would have to be the cliff-hanger ending. In my opinion, ‘open-ended’ endings are just lazy and gutless albeit acceptable in the medium of film. But ‘cliff-hanger’ endings belong in television episodes and are just a dastardly ploy to make the viewer watch the next movie. All the producers, the two screenwriters and the director should be dumped in a hunger game as retribution, now that’s entertainment.

Rating: 5/10

S. V. Fernando