Now THIS Is What It's All About

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 2013)

The first Hunger Games film was decent; Catching Fire is superb. As other reviewers have said, this sequel improves upon its predecessor in pretty much every single way. The cast has a more balanced chemistry, so that Lawrence does not have to carry as much of the film herself. But she is terrific again from start to finish.
The overall plot narrative comes across great. The visual design, editing and cinematography are really well-tailored to suit the story. It feels like all of the pieces came together here in just the right way, from the director to the cast to the crew. While the first film was solid but clearly an adaption of a book, Catching Fire is a fully-realized film. It is fluent, inspiring, emotional, exciting and so many other things. I highly recommend it.