Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

Rating: Null/10 (8 January 2014)

First off, I think this was one of the strongest movie adaptations I've ever watched based on a teen book. Having Suzanne Collins putting her YA fiction writing career on hold to help with the scripts for these movies has had a big impact on translating the source material. One of the biggest issues with making movies adaptations like this has been keeping the balance of effectively explaining the story to newcomers and also entertaining the avid fans who know it all by heart. The original Hunger Games movie did this well but Catching Fire feels more polished in that regard. One common reaction to this movie I've noticed from scoring the internet was "I want to pick up Mockingjay now without reading the other books first, because I REALLY just want to find out what comes next." Honestly, at the risk of getting decapitated by the book fans, I feel like you could just pick up Mockingjay and start reading without the first two with how very thorough these movies are.
The first 2/3rds of the movie are inarguably the best with the character-driven scenes focusing on and parodying celebrity life. The Life-and-death TV rituals feel like a strong satire of reality television. It's by no accident that you can draw funny parallels from The Hunger Games themselves to real big production talent shows like The X Factor and The Voice. The aspect of the Hunger Games series which I personally find the most effectively innovative is the way character's personal lives are exploited for the public in a very TMZ manner. For a movie that's had as much hype as Catching Fire it's kind of humorous how the underlying message of the franchise is ANTI-CONSUMERISM! Particularly with the Subway Hunger Game sandwiches and the Covergirl make up lines. However, Catching Fire still hits the mark and has some great commentary to make on media persona's and soul-crushing journalism.
My only major issue with this movie was the same gripe many other more authentic reviewers have had about it; the ending was confusing and the big climax was anticlimactic. This is a little nit pick though in the face of what was otherwise a really exciting and enjoyable film with fantastic acting from Jennifer Lawrence. Some people might also feel as if the movie was a smidgen too long but the longer scenes that might have dragged otherwise are rescued by the strong acting performances. I would immediately recommend this film to anyone who is a "j'law" fan, because it truly showcases her talent.