An exceptional teen thriller that improves on its predecessor

Rating: 9/10 (7 December 2014)

After watching the first movie I wanted to read the books. Now I know I have to read them, because I cannot wait until 2015 to find out if President Snow dies. For he is the one who forces Katniss and Peeta to live a lie, pretending to all that they are madly in love with each other and grateful to their benevolent government for the lavish rewards it's given them. He is the one who turns their life into an endless reality show/ propaganda tour, with their loved ones at risk if their act isn't convincing enough. He is the one who declares martial law throughout the districts, unleashing Panam's psychotic 'peacekeepers' to carry out a wave of burning, floggings, and executions. And when Katniss can no longer keep up the act, he is the one who puts her, Peeta, and twenty two other past victors back in the arena to show the people that even the strongest can be crushed.
The previous games were a tragic struggle between frightened children, many of who had never been in a fight. This time it's different. Every fighter in this competition is a hardened veteran who has killed their way through a previous round of the games. They're smarter, stronger, and far deadlier than the opponents that Katniss and Peeta faced last time. And it shows. The competitors employ more sophisticated strategies, make longer lasting alliances, and fight like the warriors they are. The battles this time are far more fluid and tightly staged, the fighters' movements and attacks driven as much by skill as brute instinct. The confrontation with the baboons showed a particularly impressive level of precision, athleticism, and teamwork.
But although the tributes may be good at this, that doesn't mean any of them want to be doing it. Every one of them is mad as hell at Snow for putting them in these games. They were told that as victors they would live a life of luxury and never have to enter the arena again, yet here they are again, fighting for their lives with the odds very much not in their favor. They're prepared to kill as many of each other as they have to, but every man and woman in these games knows who the real enemy is. In the 'pre-games interviews' every one of them make it perfectly clear that they know this is bull, with results bordering on hilarious. The crazy ax girl probably said it best, if least eloquently.
The acting is also worth commending. Jennifer Lawrence continues to shine as Katniss. Determined, hard as nails, and yet emotionally vulnerable, she makes an excellent action heroine in the tradition of Sigourney Weaver and delivers a much more nuanced performance than many other actresses her age. Jena Malone is suitably vicious, quirky, and oddly attractive as the crazy ax chick, while Woody Harrelson continues to deliver an entertaining combination of wisdom, wit, and cynicism as Katniss's mentor. And although he has relatively little time on screen, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant and extremely menacing as the devious head gamekeeper.
Between the story, action, and acting, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a hell of a movie. It's exciting, engaging, sometimes humorous, often heartbreaking, and frequently thought provoking. It draws unflattering parallels to our celebrity obsessed, media saturated culture, and it will make you angry in the best way possible. And if you haven't read the book there are major surprises in store. Catching Fire is everything a good thriller should be, and well worth watching.