Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Friday 10th October 2014

Director: Francis Lawrence
Year: 2013
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Willow Shields, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Another movie that I wanted to see when it was released (having already seen The Hunger Games and really enjoyed it), this was the second movie I got to see as part of having a netflix trial.

Now, I haven't read the books, so I can't compare the movie and the book, but I did really enjoy the film. It has similar elements to the first movie, but it is different. It was a while ago I saw The Hunger Games so I did have to cast my mind back a bit, but I did manage to figure out what was going on relatively quickly.

Katniss Everdeen, the winner of last years tournament, along with Peeta (Hutcherson), now have to fight in this year's tournament, along with previous winners from other sectors. The excuse for this is that it's the 75th year of the games. The real reason is to get rid of Katniss and Peeta, who have made a mockery of the system and are starting to cause an uprising. Needless to say, none of the fighters are particularly happy about this state of affairs. There's a lot of angry people in this tournament.

The most powerful aspect of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is how it manages to show you the total injustice of it all - the bad guys are truly evil, and you really do end up despising them. I'm now keen to see the third movie, which must mean I enjoyed this one a fair bit...

Rating: 4 out of 5