Catching Fire Burnt my Opinion

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2014)

Waiting until this movie came out on bluray, was definitely a smart decision. I really enjoyed the previous Hunger Games movie but this sequel didn't follow up with the same caliber of film. Jennifer Lawrence's performance was strong as always, she plays the tough underdog everyone loves to get behind. Josh Hutcherson never really shows a wide emotional range, he seems to have the same monotone attitude through the whole movie. Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci all round out the cast with great supporting roles. It is a real shame Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away because it is going to be hard to fill his shoes with the last two movies in the series.
The first movie consisted a lot of the actually games where this movie was majority of setting up the games. The movie doesn't really start off strong and kind of drags. It is heavy on the romance Katniss and Peeta have to put on display for all of the districts. I just feel the pace of the movie was a lot slower than the first and some of the material could have been cut out. I wish there was more shown of how the other tributes were eliminated in the games, especially how interesting the new arena was. The ending also felt a bit rushed and it did not leave me wanting more. After the first movie I couldn't wait until the sequel came out and this just didn't make me feel the same way.
I did enjoy while they were training for the games, though it was a bit short. The action in this movie was intense and kept me on the edge of my seat when it was happening. The start of the games was definitely awesome because not only did they beat up Cinna(Lenny Kravitz) in front of Katniss moments before the start, but all of the tributes were placed on pedestals in the middle of a lake. The jungle atmosphere seemed a lot more energetic than the forest than the previous film. The concept of the clock with deadly booby traps every hour was clever and different. I was intrigued and wanted to see more of what the dome had in store for the tributes but was ultimately let down. Hopefully the next film will rekindle my interest for this series. That is why I am giving this movie a 6/10.