This year, things are truly catching fire in more ways than one. Last year was entirely about survival, first for her sister and then for herself. Yet, in Catching Fire, Katniss is in a different place. Indeed, the world of Panem is so dark and absurdly twisted that it might almost be hard to believe that this exact form of tyranny could exist, if not for Lawrence’s ever-anchoring performance. Yet ultimately, visual style is secondary to character and emotion, which almost goes without saying is the highlight of The Hunger Gamesfilms thanks primarily to Jennifer Lawrence. As someone who still fails to see the novelty of 3D, it is always refreshing when certain filmmakers unleash their quills with IMAX blockbusters that embrace film over gimmicks. While it is presented entirely in 35mm for well over an hour, once the actual Games start, the movie literally opens up into stunning IMAX clarity. If you have the ability to see this on an IMAX screen in 70mm, do it. Director Lawrence not only pulls the camera back for the 75 th quarter quells, he captures the exasperating carnage in staggering IMAX. However, the trade-off should please many of the fans previously upset that the actual Hunger Games violence was too chaotic and spastic to comprehend. This is obviously intentional and it works to marvelous effect. There is unfortunately something lost in the verisimilitude of last year’s movie, which had an economical immediacy by placing much of the importance of this sci-fi world on the lived-in hardships of its characters. In the building festivities to the 75 th Hunger Games, there are times where the Capitol is reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s version of Rome. Whereas that movie relied on excessive shaky-cam and tight close-ups, series newcomer Francis Lawrence directs the sequel with an actual blockbuster budget on an operatic scale. Indeed, it is almost alien to the style of Gary Ross’ original film. The Hunger Games: Catching Fireis a big movie. With all the political drama, one can almost forget there is still the love triangle where Gale and Peeta vie for Katniss’ deeply buried feelings. Of course, this includes Katniss and Peeta. This reaches all the way back home where Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and even Katniss’ younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) are singing the songs of angry men. The second half of the film becomes Snow and Plutarch Heavensbee’s (Philip Seymour Hoffman) solution to this Katniss problem: An All-Star 75 th Hunger Games filled with previous years’ winners. In the Capitol, Katniss is viewed as the visage of love, but in the outer-edges of the dystopia, she is synonymous with the Mockingjay, whose buzzing sound has become the whisper of rebellion. The first is almost a comedy of manners as Katniss and Peeta are paraded around Panem, most memorably in the Capitol, to a public alternating between admiration and revolution. The film is intentionally divided into two sections. And if Katniss fails to convince Snow or his citizenry that these are the romantic dreams that reality TV is made of, there will be consequences. As poster-children for the Panem government now, Katniss and Peeta are forced to go from district to district proclaiming their love for one another, lest anybody suspect that their refusal to fight to the death in the previous movie was an act of defiance. In the dead of icy winter, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) pays a visit to Katniss and her starving people in District 12. Despite being the victors, they learn what their mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) means when he says that there are no winners, only survivors. This especially applies to the film’s core, a girl and her bow. It’s been a rough year since Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) won the previous Hunger Games. After months of warmed over superhero happy meals, The Hunger Games: Catching Fireoffers a truly satisfying experience that leaves you desperate for more of this world, and also for the characters who inhabit it. Not only is it going to be the biggest movie of the holiday season, it’s also easily the best blockbuster of the year. Yet, after that box office Cinderella story, all eyes this autumn have been arrested by The Girl On Fire. And I’m here to say The Hunger Games: Catching Fire delivers. When The Hunger Games opened in 2012, it was viewed with industry skepticism due to its emphasis on child violence and worse, a female action heroine. It’s still amazing what a difference a year can make.
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