Catching Fire review. Does Contain Spoiler

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2013)

Hunger Games:Catching Fire Review By Carole
I didn't want to watch the new Hunger Games: Catching Fire, movie. The first one had killed the trilogy for me. I would rather remember the, Hunger Games from the books I had read and loved. I was skeptical when my best friend suggested we go see it. I reluctantly bought a movie ticket, expecting a giant two and half-hour let down; boy was I wrong.
I sat down in my seat and as soon as the opening credits played, I already had goose bumps from the mocking jay song. I still wasn't holding out for a great movie, but I was intrigued at this point. The movie opens up with Gale and Katniss talking, before Katniss was to leave for the victory tour. The first thing I noticed was that Katniss looked different from the last movie. She no longer looked like child; she had a look of sadness and a harden appearance to her. Katniss looked more believable as a character that has been thorough and survived the Hunger Games. Katniss is also suffering from PTSD, with flashbacks, hallucinations, and scary dreams. The physical transformation of Katniss was much appreciated ,which made her more relatable to the book series.
Even the scenery was different this go round from the last movie. The colors were noticeably subdued and the imagery no longer had the cheap feel as the first Hunger Games. The cinematographer did a wonderful job with the CGI. Last movie, I felt the CGI wasn't believable, looked extremely fake, and looked cheap. Whereas, this time the scenes are brought to life with tasteful images and colors. Even the characters Effie and Ceaser were both toned down in their appearance and colors. Ceaser no longer radioactively glowed, and Effie no longer looked dead. I also liked how President Snow was portrayed this go around. The acting was a giant step up from the previous movie. The actor really captured the hate Snow feels for Katniss, which is something I felt in the book as well.
I found it very refreshing how accurate the movie portrayed the book. This is very important when making a film based on a book, especially when the books were such a hit among its readers. The last movie was not as accurate and fans of the series were pretty vocal about their disapproval. It's nice to see a new director take control and listen to the fans.
The one thing I didn't think the movie portrayed correctly, was the relationships between Gale and Katniss , and the relationship between Peeta and Katniss. Catching fire, plays up the Gale and Katniss relationship, and greatly downplays Peeta and Katniss. The movie doesn't really focus, on how Peeta helps with Katniss and her PTSD, by spending numerous nights with her, so she no longer has to have bad dreams. To me, this is an important fact to overlook, because this shows the feelings Katniss starts to develop for Peeta. In the book Katniss is more torn between the two guys, instead of focusing all her attention on Gale.
My favorite part of the whole film was of course when the tributes are in the Arena. I liked how the movie helped put a visual to what was in my head while reading the book. The aerial view off the arena made it easy to see how it was divided into a clock. I loved how the movie made you see the arena through the eyes of Katniss, as she was standing on her platform she was blinded by bright, white, light, and everything else slowly came into focus. I loved the fight scenes, which in my opinion where much more believable then the last movie. The movie does end with a giant cliffhanger, which is very true to the ending of the Catching Fire book. I remember after reading the book, I immediately began reading the third book, Mocking Jay. I was so intrigued, I had to keep going, which is how I felt after seeing Catching Fire. I'm so excited to see what the director does in Mocking Jay.
Overall, this movie was a giant step up from the last film and anyone who is fan of the books should be happy with how accurate the movie is to the book. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is skeptical about seeing it, especially after seeing the first movie. I would even suggest this movie to a person who isn't a fan of the trilogy, but wants to see a good fantasy movie to escape reality.