Better than the first and a lot less violent

Rating: 7/10 (28 November 2013)

I went to see the first Hunger Games and though I liked the character of Katniss I was really put off by the excessive violence (especially concerning children) in the movie. I am glad that this continuation of the tale toned some of the violence down and was mostly about grown ups which probably made it more interesting to me. I like the continued political overtones but in this movie I liked Katniss less and felt that everyone else around her seemed more noble than she would ever be. That's kind of bad for a so called heroine. Woody Harrelson was great again and Donald Sutherland always plays evil well. Josh Hutherson excels in the role of Peeta and is as much a focal point of the movie as Katniss. I really don't understand the continued focus of Katniss and Gale's relationship; someone will have to explain that one to me. Though I'm not waiting with baited breath for the next installment I will probably stick with it till the end.