Among the greatest sequels ever made

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2014)

(Saw in theaters on opening day, reviewing after re-watching Blu-Ray) Let me preface by saying, I first saw the Hunger Games not knowing any characters and not caring much at all, basically forced into going. After the first movie I became very intrigued about what the sequels could be. I have not read any of the books but I now consider myself a huge fan. I didn't really have high expectations for the second one, but boy was I blown away.
This movie is quite simply a masterpiece, and easily in the top ten all time sequels. To me it had the similar impact to The Dark Knight and Empire Strikes Back had on me.
Impression- The trailers definitely had me wondering, and because I didn't read the books I was asking myself why are they being thrown back into the ring? There was a good explanation after all. It was the third quarter quell so on this occasion each of the existing victors are to be re-entered into the Hunger Games to battle for all the marbles. I really think this movie was much more well done than the first. Francis Lawrence did a fantastic job and I'm very pleased he will be back for the 3rd and 4th movie. This movie has one of the greatest tag-lines ever as well. "Every revolution begins with a spark". And really once you know what that means, you realize how awesome this book probably was to read. Sitting on the edge of your seat as you find out that Katniss was Plutarch's plan all along, she is the Mockingjay, and she IS THE REVOLUTION. I'm glad I didn't know about Hoffman's character twist, and it came as a surprise to me. There is so much good to this movie that I really only have one complaint....
Complaints (minor) - It takes too long to get to the games. 90 minutes into the movie we finally see them in the arena. I would have liked to see much more character interaction in the arena instead of Gail-Katniss time. Besides that I don't think there's anything wrong with this movie.
The whole film looks beautiful. I'm really glad they got rid of the shaky camera from the first, and that these games are more colorful and brighter. Come to think of it this may be Jennifer Lawrence's best performance. American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook are great but the emotional depth she brought to Katniss this time around is unparalleled. I cant imagine any other actress being this good as Katniss. This is truly one of the greatest sequels ever made and I don't know how they are going to top it.
Overall its fantastic, and not as scary as the first so I can see more families enjoying this one. Not to mention it features one of the most bad-ass cliffhangers in film history. I loved the transformation of Katniss' face from devastated to wanting to kick Snow's ass. Loved it
9.8/10