A gripping second instalment

Rating: 9/10 (18 February 2015)

After the events of the first Hunger Games film Katniss and Peeta have returned home to District Twelve but as victors they have an obligation to go on a tour; visiting the other districts before heading to the capital. As they travel Katniss notices a feeling of rebellion amongst the people; President Snow has noticed it too and he sees Katniss as the person who gave people the belief that they could stand up to the Capital thanks to her behaviour in the games. He decides that she must die but first he must stop the people loving her to avoid making her a martyr. To this end Plutarch Heavensbee, the man now running the games, proposes a special Hunger Games to celebrate its seventy fifth year this time the competitors will all be previous winners. As Katniss is the only female winner from District 12 she is guaranteed to compete again. Once again Peeta ends up fighting alongside her and once in the game they make allies to defend against the more dangerous competitors but they know alliances can't last and there are other dangers that could kill them just as easily as the other competitors.
Having enjoyed the previous film I was wondering how they would build on that story without being repetitive. No time is wasted explaining what went before so one definitely needs to watch the first film before watching this. We are quickly reminded of the hardships of living in the districts and of the brutality of the authority in the capital. Once the game starts the tension inevitably rises and even though one can guess Katniss will survive one can't help fearing for her safety and that of her friends. The ending is also quite different; her method of survival is different and obviously sets things up for the next instalment of the story with a twist that I didn't see coming. Jennifer Lawrence continues to do a fine job as Katniss and while the characters of the other competitors aren't as well developed that doesn't mean they are boring; in fact they have to remain a bit of a mystery if we aren't to know if they can be trusted. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman is nicely threatening as Plutarch Heavensbee; even more so that Donald Sutherland's President Snow. Like 'The Empire Strikes Back'; another famous second instalment, this concludes with things not looking good; the Capital is crushing any perceived threat and Katniss has been separated from Peeta fans will certainly be left keen to watch the next film: Mockingjay Pt 1.