Very much feels like 'THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK' of the series!

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2013)

'THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE': Five Stars (Out of Five)
The sequel to the 2012 blockbuster, based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Collins, about a dystopian future where kids are selected (by a lottery) to compete to the death in a bloody arena, as part of a reality TV show aired for the public to see. Jennifer Lawrence once again stars as Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta Mellark, the two survivors of the games in the first film. They've now inspired the beginnings of a rebellion, which scares the powers that be and in retaliation they're once again selected to compete in the 'hunger games', along with other winners from previous years. The film also once again stars Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland. They're joined by newcomers like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Wright and Jenna Malone. Francis Lawrence (who's previous directing credits include films like 'I AM LEGEND' and 'CONSTANTINE') directed this installment and Simon Beaufoy (who's previous writing credits include movies like 'THE FULL MONTY' and 'SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE') and Michael Arndt (who also wrote 'LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE' and co-wrote films like 'TOY STORY 3', 'BRAVE' and 'OBLIVION') wrote the screenplay. I loved the first movie (it was my second favorite film of last year) and found this installment to be nearly as good. It's also my favorite movie of this year!
Katniss (Lawrence) has now become a symbol of hope to the masses and is inspiring rebellions around the world. President Snow (Sutherland) is extremely threatened by this and devises a plan, along with the new head gamemaker (Hoffman), to have the contestants for the 75th Annual Hunger Games selected from previous winners, forcing Katniss and Peeta to reenter the games. Things aren't completely as they seem though as the film builds to a shocking conclusion and cliffhanger. This chapter very much feels like 'THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK' of the series in that way. It's also much darker than the original film and revolves around an evil government retaliating against rebellious forces that caused some damage in the first movie (like 'EMPIRE' as well).
Like the first film (and all great science fiction) the movie has a lot of great social commentary with parallels to modern life in the real world. This is one of the areas these films are the strongest at. This one, like the first, also has a lot of great action and spectacular visuals. It wasn't quite as moving as the original movie for me (although it has it's tearful moments) and is a little slower paced (for much of the first half of the film) but the last hour (containing all the scenes in the arena) is action packed and the ending is breathtaking. I thought the romance between Katniss and Peeta, and the love triangle involving Gale (Hemsworth) as well, really worked again and found myself once again really relating to Peeta (as he is the heart of these films). Lawrence is the action hero of the series though and now a full blown movie star. She totally shines in this movie (and has never looked better) and really makes it something worth watching. Like I said I didn't find it quite as enjoyable as the original but it's pretty damn close!
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