Young Writers Society

Movies such as those in the The Hunger Games series, tend to hold great expectations. Numerous fans, including myself, have awaited to view Catching Fire with great anticipation after the great success of the first movie. I expected much from the second movie, for I had loved the trilogy in which the movies are based on.

Catching Fire follows Katniss Everdeen and her experiences in a futuristic dystopian world in which the oppressive Capitol has forced an annual “Hunger Games,” where two tributes – a male and a female – are randomly selected in each of the twelve districts. In the games, a tribute must win by a gruesome fight to the death. He or she would be given certain amenities as an award for their victory.

In the first movie, The Hunger Games, Everdeen had volunteered in place of her sister, Prim. She and the male tribute (Peeta Mellark), chosen as District 12’s two tributes, were to compete in The Hunger Games. The pair were able to win The Hunger Games by fabricating a “love” for each other through the games and, as an act of their “love,” attempted to eat poison berries that would kill both of them, so that there would be no winner in the games (they were the last remaining alive tributes).

In Catching Fire, Peeta and Katniss witness the commotion that they had caused among districts because of their actions in The Hunger Games. Their act of love was seen as an act of defiance against the Capitol. President Snow, who has come to see Peeta and Katniss as detrimental factors to the Capitol, felt threatened by the possibility of an revolution. Consequently, for the 75th anniversary of The Hunger Games, he recalled past victors to fight once again in the games in attempt to extinguish the two “lovers.”

Personally, I found Catching Fire enjoyable, but not quite as exceptional as the public seems to regard it to be. Like the Twilight series, I believed that the second movie would improve immensely following the first one. With a greater budget, and an increasing fan-base, I had concluded that the movie would be much improved.

I had originally found the first movie to be lacking immensely – it was much too long and it was slow to get to the action. Catching Fire, however, was much better. Though it, too, was needlessly lengthy (146 minutes long) – there were a few scenes that could be easily shortened – the movie did a great job of living up to many fans’ high expectations.

Jennifer Lawrence, who won an Academy Award the past year for her role in Silver Linings Playbook, truly demonstrated why she won such an award as she acted as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games trilogy. Lawrence has done a great job of illustrating the athleticism and independence of Everdeen, and I have genuinely become a fan of hers.

Aside from Lawrence, though, the other actors have done just as well. I was absolutely entertained by Elizabeth Banks’ interpretation of Effie Trinket and her obliviousness to the violence of The Hunger Games, and Woody Harrelson’s ability to act as the drunken mentor Haymitch.

The costumes and makeup on Catching Fire were an incredible sight. The creativity following the first movie was absolutely heightened. It has always intrigued me to watch the citizens at the Capitol and their extravagant costumes.

If I were to rate Catching Fire, I would give it a “B+” grade. Though the movie was well-written and easy to follow, the lengthy running time was enough to lower my “A” rating to a “B.” Having read the third installment of the trilogy, though, I am excited to see the next movie, Mockingjay, and its action-packed story line.