Nice sequel

Rating: 7/10 (10 July 2014)

The story continues from the first movie. Having won the 74th annual Hunger Games with Peeta Mallark, Katniss Everdeen is seen by the elements of revolutionaries as the symbol of hope for an uprising. But President Snow has anticipated this, and tries to eliminate her through forced natural and inevitable means by plunging her into the 75th Hunger Games.
The flick starts with Katniss in the woods, kind of repetitive. President Snow threatens Katniss, warning not to have any thoughts of a revolution. The victors are then tasked to visit the other Districts starting from District 11, home of Rue, Katniss' real and loyal ally in the first movie. Peeta and Katniss are given speech cards, which they emotionally cast aside. Katniss' speech, mentioning she knew Rue, especially encouraged some folks of District 11. The whistling of the four-note mockingjay call, plus the hand gesture, now makes one an instant revolutionary. And in the presence of the Peacekeepers, that person gets apprehended and executed publicly on site. It's a great change considering at the end of the first movie we see many people did that publicly and in the presence of the Peacekeepers, and nothing happened.
Back home to District 12, Katniss defends Gale from lashing. Peeta and Haymitch, their 'mentor', step in to calm the Peacekeeper commander down from executing the Capitol's darling victor Katniss. They succeeded, but the scene was televised nation wide, and becomes extra fuel for the revolutionaries to start local riots. Snow then alters the rules of the 75th Hunger Games to force Katniss into it, considering the loop that she is the only female winner from District 12. It's just typical of bad guy kingpins, Snow alters rules on the last minute, right before the 'reaping' of the tributes.
Doing the showcase tradition on the eve before the games, Katniss, the 'girl on fire', again does her signature turns, this time making her dresses burns entirely, only to change appearance into a mockingjay dress. The mockingjay dress looks awesome story-wise, but looks ridiculously stupid in reality. Fortunately the angle turns into a head shot when Katniss says "like a mockingjay" LOL. Anyway, the dress gets the stylist to be beaten up by Peacekeepers in front of Katniss, just right as the start of the Games.
On the games, Katniss and Peeta team up in alliance with Finnick and Mags from District 4. later in the night Mags gives her life on a poison fog so Finnick can carry the injured Peeta. Katniss has seen the fog mover closer in a fast pace but fails to determine in time that it was dangerous. This is odd, a survival expert of a Katniss doesn't seem to ever see a fog in her entire life. no natural fog move that fast, girl LOL :D
Moving over on the Games, it looks like things are getting better for Katniss' alliance considering that the surviving tributes out of the alliance are only those two from District 2. Still, Katniss is uneasy at all others besides Peeta.
At the midnight prior to the lightning strikes, Johanna knocks Katniss down but she doesn't kill her. Instead she makes a little cut in Katniss' arm while making a distraction so the District 2 tributes wouldn't bother Katniss. Experienced movie-goers should have guessed it right here. Yes Katniss have uneasy feelings on others besides Peeta. Yes Johanna was being a prick with her stunt in the elevator the other day. But why doesn't Johanna kill her right then then and there? She even hushed Katniss from moaning her pain so not to alert the District 2 tributes.
Still katniss' uneasiness lingers on after she comes to. Katniss almost kill Finnick while he can't see her. But Finnick say the right words, a quote from Haymitch, proving that Finnick did not obtain the bangle through a foul way.
On the lightning strikes, Katniss redirects on of them to the force field dome, destroying the arena, making a hole big enough for a transport plane get in and grab her unconscious body out. She wakes up and finds Finnick Haymitch, and Owen Davian.... no, wait, sorry, it's not MI:3 LOL, the head game maker, who was really secretly a revolutionary too.
The main characters are developed well, but not so for the supporting characters. The other tributes are vaguely clear on their roles in the Games, especially when we compare them to the ones in the first flick.
The Games itself are also somewhat unable to perform its emphasis of being the third Quarter Quell, considering it is very short-lived, only two days and not as much filled with action as the previous movie.
The setting is not so supportive to the Games considering that there is only one open area, the main spot of the cornucopia.
But then again this second installment is good in overall. Katniss gets to show action with her bow in the holographic training room. This balance the lack of action before the Games in the first movie.
The scene of Katniss and Peeta talking in the lounge on the back of the train is a great use of setting and property, considering the angle of the shot depicting the moving train's movement at the rear.
The costumes are overall well designed. Although I think the main Games outfit of tight suits are just ridiculous. Yet the other costumes are great, fitting the scenes. One thing to mention, the Peacekeeper costumes have nice detailing on the armor padding.
Despite it's certain shortcomings, this is a good movie to watch, whether you've watch the first movie or not, or whether you've read the books or not. For me, I give the film an 8 out of 10 score.