Superior sequel but never really ignited my fire

Rating: 5/10 (5 February 2017)

As said with the first 'Hunger Games' film (which had its plus points but didn't do much for me), the books are fun, scary, thrilling and moving though because being so rich in detail and characterisation they are difficult to adapt.
'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' is a bigger and somewhat better sequel, but also could have been much better. It underwhelms as an adaptation still, with the basic details there but in need of more depth (not as badly as with the first film though), but again it's more problematic on its own. Not an awful film (neither is the first) but considering the talent and source material, there was real potential for it to be really good, and it doesn't quite do that.
Starting with the good things, most of the acting is fine. Jennifer Lawrence is terrific as Katniss, and she is brilliantly supported by Donald Sutherland and the late Philip Seymour Hoffmann bringing first-class villainy. The action is more exciting and tense and much less hindered by the hasty pacing and frenetic editing that marred the action in the first 'Hunger Games'.
Generally (apart from some dodgy special effects) the production values are slicker and even more ominous, the dystopian feel as nightmarish as ought. The score is thrilling and emotive, and there is more jeopardy and intensity, if happening quite late into the film.
However, 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' is crippled by an overlong and far too stretched running time, and sadly the material is not consistently interesting enough to justify it. The film does take too long to get going with a very draggy and uneventful first hour, before becoming more action-packed and tense halfway through where things really pick up. Then it comes crashing down again with an ending so abrupt that it feels like the film was released incomplete.
Once again, the writing does feel under-cooked, with some cringe-worthy moments and lacks edge or any kind of emotion a lot of the time. The relationship between Katniss and Peeta is still marred by anaemic chemistry and Josh Hutcherson failing to inject any charisma or life to his role. The scary intensity on the whole of the story is still lacking, as well as any insight on social commentary or satirical edge, too much of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' still feels rather tame and undernourished, and despite better production values the direction is sloppy and often feels uncertain in the early parts.
In summary, bigger and slightly better but never really ignited my fire. 5/10 Bethany Cox