The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – review

Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Photograph: Allstar/LIONSGATE/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

The Hunger Games are back and the Capitol must begin its ceremony of Reaping again, but before all that the rebellious winners of the previous games, ‘girl on fire’ Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) have their victory tour to attend – at the request of the Capitol and its figurehead President Snow (Donald Sutherland) – and the ‘lovebirds’ must do the rounds of the Districts of Panem for the cameras.

Their reluctance and lack of enthusiasm is nipped in the bud by Snow, who threatens and puts pressure on Katniss to fall in line and put on a good (and convincing) show to keep any hint of rebellion at bay in the volatile Districts.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the second instalment of the film adaptations of Suzanne Collins’ popular trilogy – although the final book is to be made into two films coming next year and in 2015 – and picks up from where the first film ended, with the aftermath of the inspiring victory for humanity amidst the horror of the enforced battle to the death, where the two are unprecedented joint winners.

However, as games veteran Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) continually echoes, the truth is that there are no winners of the Hunger Games, only survivors. Snow will not let such aspirational hope stay in the people’s consciousness and he forces Katniss and Peeta to align themselves with the Capitol’s traditions and ideals, as he can no longer let them represent defiance.

Haymitch utters the pragmatic statement, “From now on, your job is to be a distraction. So people forget what the real problems are.” The people are not forgetting though and the act is not convincing enough, and the Mockingjay symbol and song (an emblem of hope that is suppressed) reappears. Soon Snow and new Head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), take more drastic action to quash the hope and backlash.

This feeling of imminent uprising is reflected in Katniss’ close friend/love interest from hometown District 12, Gale (Liam Hemsworth), who is stuck in the difficult situation of being in love with Katniss, whilst she has strong feelings for him but is unable to make any commitments due to what is happening, including the public show of affection for fellow winner Peeta and Peeta’s genuine feelings for Katniss. Despite his emotions towards Katniss, Gale has become focused on the suffering of the people of District 12 and has grown angry and riotous thoughts have started to rise up in him.

Then comes the bombshell, the Capitol deals a savage blow to the hope of the people of the Districts, as a ‘Quarter Quell’ is announced to coincide with the 75th Hunger Games, which sees a ‘Champion for Champions’ edition of the Games where previous winners are pitted against each other and as always it’s to the death and last competitor standing.

Snow takes these extreme measures in an attempt to stop the idea of revolt from ‘catching fire’, as he fears another uprising like the one that ended up forging the Hunger Games, which the Capitol invented as a punishment and reminder that it will not tolerate such behaviour and the ‘tributes’, as they are called, that are ‘picked’ to fight each year as a mandatory apology and spectre of fear.

So that’s the state of play and as in the previous film, Katniss again must fight this brutal battle for survival amidst all manner of impossible decisions, dilemmas and conflicts of principles and trust, pitted against the cream of the crop in the form of some weird and wonderful former victors. Meanwhile, the Gamemakers and Capitol give the competitors an upgraded arena, with yet more hellish and complex scenarios and threats, including poisonous fog, lightning blasts and rabid baboons.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a more rounded and ultimately more engaging film than the impressive first instalment. The pressure on the Capitol is starting to build and Snow knows it, whilst the Peacekeepers on the ground are anything but peaceful, as they look to snuff out the rumblings of mutiny amongst the Districts.

Ironically, while Katniss’ appetite for defiance is fading, as she feels an air of inevitably in the face of a seemingly all-powerful regime, Gale and others in the Districts sense they are on the cusp on an uprising. She is struggling mentally to live up to the responsibility of being the Districts’ heroine embodying the Mockingjay, and she even talks to Gale about the idea of fleeing before the Reaping (when tributes are chosen).

Haymitch and Peeta do their best to rouse her mental strength, whilst she must form alliances in the arena with co-competitors in order to physically deal with what’s thrown at the players in the hardest Hunger Games ever.

There is great action in this film, plus twists and turns along the way and a surging energy pulsates throughout its two and half hours, as the Capitol and its materialistic and uber-glamorous façade creaks and starts to show vulnerability, as the intensity increases just a fast as Snow and co try to paint over the cracks.

Jennifer Lawrence (not J-Law, I hate that), Donald Sutherland and Woody Harrelson are again in fine form and there are also notable turns from Sam Claflin as District 4 victor Finnick and Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, the Lady Gaga-esque escort of District 12 representatives.

The saga continues to be a welcome balance of futuristic/dystopian adventure with a pinch of the political, a drop of romance, a sizeable splash of violence and a not-too-overbearing dollop of CGI visuals, which amounts to another stylish and intelligent action movie.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is showing at the Hackney Picturehouse throughout November and December