You feel the burn of effort, albeit it could be slightly brighter

Rating: 8/10 (21 November 2013)

The way the Hunger Games were won displeased President Snow(Sutherland, giving us yet another despicable bad guy), who threatens that the two "star-crossed lovers" will have to serve as distraction - to stop the growing rebellion in its tracks. When Gale(Hemsworth, who now gets to take breaks from brood and charm to show what those traits are hiding) hears of the unrest, he is determined to aid it. As more US police - I mean, Peacekeepers(with a redesigned armor that renders them similar to stormtroopers... and I mean Hitlers' as well as The Galactic Empire's) are stationed in the districts and Peeta(Hutcherson, who has time to be more than a somewhat weak, if likable, puppy-dog for our heroine) and Katniss(Lawrence, who drives this ahead with intensity and strength - and shows that when allowed to, she can let her guard down, and there is more to her than prematurely being forced into the role of provider) have to make a fateful decision - will they encourage it? Perhaps even... join it?
As a sequel, this does just about everything right. Acknowledging everything in the first(which this outdoes in most ways - the only thing that remains better at is that it didn't omit as many vital details from the source material; frankly, those that go into this without having read the book, or at least a synopsis, will scratch their heads at some pay-offs that were never set up, and the ending half-introduces a key aspect which is literally outright incomprehensible) whilst changing the style slightly, nearly completely eliminating the shaky-cam, not only furthering our returning characters but also developing new and old alike, pulling them out of the purgatory of being relegated to mere archetypes. Right from when you meet Finnick(Claflin, an arrogant ladies' man) and Johanna(Malone, abrasive and snarky, could not give less of a crap), you know who they are as people. Every role is well-cast, and everyone steps up to the challenge of their roles having grown as people and/or been extended.
Having to include a lot of details and thematic complexity from the novel(which wasn't confined to a 135 minute running time, not counting end credits), this has numerous little moments that say a ton about what they represent a tiny glimpse into - such as the leading girl's PTSD-like state and various interpersonal relationships, including the much-feared love triangle(that, though expanded, is not focused too much on). While the unfortunate traits of the middle chapter of a trilogy are present, they are easily forgiven. Some cartoonish villainy does detract from an otherwise highly credible depiction of a dictatorship. The world feels real, lived-in over designed, and you are mercilessly placed in it - the arena genuinely capturing the unnatural, lethally crafted and unpredictable quality that it evokes in the written original. Sudden stings of heartbreaking events keep the action-less portions from ever growing stale, and they avoid being cheap tricks by always being followed up on, not being false starts.
There is a lot of brutal and disturbing content, and a little blood and violence(pushed far for a PG-13) in this. I recommend this to any fan of satire and survival drama. 8/10