Well done

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2013)

I'm one of those people who read the Lord of the Rings as a child, then saw them on DVD years later and ruthlessly administered my most critical opinion on them based on their faithfulness to the books. The Hunger Games did not escape this fate. The day before Thanksgiving 2012, I picked up the first book in the series; thus, was in an absolute fog for the entire day of Thanksgiving that year. This year, I watched "The Hunger Games" at home, then saw "Catching Fire" in theaters the next day.
It was, to say the least, beautiful. It seemed less stylistic than the first, probably since they switched directors and we were all denied a second, jarring handy cam experience; which, to be fair, I loved in "The Hunger Games" but would not have suited "Catching Fire." They truly raised the stakes, and that is evident in everything we are given on screen. The dialog is tighter, the sequences are neater--the really propel the plot, the costumes and make-up are genuinely divine; I read that Alexander McQueen is credited as Effie's main dress designer, which, if you even know a tiny bit about fashion (like me) speaks volumes.
For two and a half hours, you will never be bored once. You know those scenes in movies that you watch the first time and think, "I will always fast-forward this part once I get it on DVD because it's just boring explanation of something"? There are none of those moments in "Catching Fire." Completely compelling all the way through.
All in all, not some psychological, mind bending, life changing film, but a feast for the eyes, sometimes nerve-wracking, always engaging, "Catching Fire" is a job well done. See it.