Francis Lawrence Raises the Stakes for a Stand Out Sequel

Rating: 10/10 (18 November 2013)

Being a big fan of the books, I went into the Hunger Games: Catching Fire with unrealistically high expectations. With the first being such a success, there was not much else to capitalize on. Some people were even worried about the change of director for the series; but Francis Lawrence has created a film that not only improves over the first in every way, but also makes a stunning transition from book to film. Fans of the novel should be pleased; almost every major event carries over to the big screen. The only thing I was disappointed with was the lack of Haymitch's games in the movie, those were cut. But there is plenty to be excited about. Plenty of dialog was taken right out of the novel, Costumes have improved, (Effie looks better than ever!) CGI was much smoother, a fantastic use of it is during the sequence with the monkeys, and nothing can make a film great without an A-List cast; greats such as Donald Sutherland (President Snow) and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Plutarch Havensbee) create an interesting chemistry on screen and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence steps it up a notch as Katniss Everdeen with some of the best reactions I've seen in a young actress in recent years; no one could have portrayed the girl on fire better than her. Truly this film was a joyride for me; it's explosive, dramatic, interesting, and the series has something for everyone. The cliffhanger at the end is a gut twister and I can't wait for the final two installments. Bravo! 10/10