Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire, returns with a bang in Francis Lawrence's pulse-pounding adaptation of Suzanne Collins' 2nd book in "The Hunger Games" trilogy

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2013)

As we know last year, "The Hunger Games" became a surprising hit, introducing us to Katniss Everdeen, a female character who is strong, vulnerable and brave. And it made a movie star out of Jennifer Lawrence, who was the perfect choice to play Katniss. But some people (and fans) weren't pleased with the first film, mainly they thought it wasn't as strong as the book and that the shaky-cam wasn't suitable for this material. I thought that director Gary Ross did such a great job with the film, and luckily, I was very excited for the second installment. In the rare tradition of sequels that are better than the first film, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" joins in. This is a film that is more complex, more mature, more thrilling and more emotional than "The Hunger Games" and it's a magnificent adaptation of Suzanne Collins' 2nd book in the trilogy (soon to be four films) that will leave audiences breathless. In "Catching Fire", Katniss (Recent Oscar-Winner Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) have survived last year's Hunger Games and are scarred from that experience, but President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) is not pleased. When he visits Katniss in her home at District 12, he gives her an ultimatum: Convince the dystopian world of Panem that the (acting for the cameras) love between them is real during their Victory Tour or war will be coming. After their victory tour, in which most of the people in Panem are forming a rebellion against the Capitol, Katniss just wants to stay in District 12, hunting with her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth), who have feelings for her, and to keep her mother and sister Prim (Willow Shields) safe. Snow wants to get rid of Katniss now that she's the voice of the revolution, but Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has a better idea: Put her and Peeta back in the arena for the 3rd Quarter Quell (75th Hunger Games) with previous victors who are "all experienced killers". Some of those victors includes wise Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and nutty Wiress (Amanda Plummer) from District 3, fierce Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) from District 7 and handsome, but arrogant Finnick Odair (a charming star-making turn by Sam Claflin from "Snow White and the Huntsman") from District 4. As they make their way to the arena that are filled with excellent surprises (wonderfully shot in Hawaii with IMAX cameras), Katniss and Peeta wonder do they have to survive again in order to trust someone or are they just another piece in their games. This is a great opportunity to have a new director in Francis Lawrence (director of the fun "Water for Elephants" and "I Am Legend") who has a more relaxed approach than Gary Ross and he and Oscar-winning screenwriters Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire") and Michael DeBruyn a.k.a Michael Arndt ("Little Miss Sunshine") manages to be faithful to the book but understands the themes of fear, hope, life, love and survival and combines them together so that it could resonate with any one who can relate to it. He even gives the cast also including returning regulars Woody Harrelson as Katniss and Peeta's mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, the PR agent of the Capitol, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, host of Capitol TV and Lenny Kravitz as Katniss' stylist, Cinna, astonishing performances. Mr. Lawrence (not related to Jennifer), who will also direct the last two films based on the third book "Mockingjay", also gets some help from the returning regulars: exhilarating music composed by James Newton Howard and marvelous production design by Philip Messina and new additions: vivid costumes by Trish Summerville and beautifully photographed by Jo Willems. It's rare to have an amazing actress who can capture a leading character that is memorable and unforgettable, but also can carry us all the way throughout this series. And Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant at capturing Katniss, this time as a tortured soul who will do anything to survive. It's a wonderful blockbuster that is intense and intriguing, but also has a lot of heart and soul. You definitely wouldn't want to miss a pulse-pounding moment of it.