A strong film with a weak ending.

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2013)

Jennifer Lawrence returns in the Hunger Games: Catching Fire, as Katniss Everdeen, and once again stuns with her brilliance. Her acting is just so believable, and I love the part where Jennifer Lawrence's random character shines through when another Hunger Games champion strips.
The film basically continues on a year after the Hunger Games. Trouble is brewing in the Districts of Panem and there are uprisings against the Capital. President Snow is not happy about the uprisings and orders Katniss to present a unified front with the Capital on her tour round the Districts. Katniss and Peeta, having spent a year trying to recover from the traumas of the Games, are forced to tour the Districts and pledge their allegiance with the Capital - under President Snow's careful watch. Unfortunately this is unsuccessful, and despite their best efforts to act as a loving couple, Snow decides to end the uprising by killing off the Districts' hero, Katniss. He declares that the 75th Hunger Games will be a fight to the death for past champions.
It is a good film that is a very nice translation of the book. The actors are brilliant, it is entertaining and full of action.
It is lovely to see the change in Effie Trinket, because she had seemed so cold in the first one and she really tries to connect with Katniss and Peeta - which really shows how the Capital loses its unity. It turns out that there is a conspiracy against the Capital, and some of the Champions help to protect Katniss during the games. The Games is weirdly short, it should really be given more time on screen.
Unfortunately they don't explain the secret plan very well and it is left hanging, not really explained and not really built up well enough. Gail is there for some reason, even though Katniss has made it clear she loves Peeta. The ending is abrupt and it felt like a really unnatural ending.
I gave it 7 out of 10 because I could watch Jennifer Lawrence all day, but the film needed to be organised a little better. The ending also needed to be changed so that it felt like more of a natural and exciting ending.