Review: "Catching Fire" is "Hunger Games" sequel that bests the original

"Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire" PG 13
     Director Francis Lawrence, no relation to the lead, Jennifer Lawrence, helms the follow up to the 2012 dystopian gladiator arena themed series, the Hunger Games, a young adult movie version of Suzanne Collins' book.
     The movie is quite faithful to the books, but as in the last movie, mentioning how the game works like a simulator was actually more for the movie audience, as there is very little in the books about the theatrical mechanics of making the arena work. The books are told in first person perspective, as though through Katniss and her allies and enemies.
     In the follow up, it is nearly a year later, and the victory tour begins, with the wealthy and evil autocracy orchestrating a goodwill tour in order to squelch a rising rebellion stemming from the appearance of the mocking jay symbol, a bird on fire.
     In the books, President Snow is thought of as more snake like than an evil old man with snow white hair, but Donald Sutherland is back chewing scenery along with everyone else, and his plans seem to include making Katniss and Peeta, Josh Hutcherson, look like they're on his side. When this fails, he enlists a new director named Heavensby to the games, played by Philip Seymore Hoffman, who advises fear and loss of hope will stop the rebels, but is operating his own agenda. Haymitch Abernathy, Woody Harrelson, returns as the drunken mentor. Elizabeth Banks chews scenery to the heights as the stylist and presenter.
     The mods to American Idol are pretty funny and probably intended to be. 
     The transforming dress that goes from white to gray black is stolen from Black Swan, but this time the dress burns away instead of falling away.
     The evil capitol devises that their quarter quell games, the 75th one, will thus include Katnis and Peeta and all finalists from the past 25 years. They intend to make a statement, but early on, the group teams up instead of fights, and means to use whatever means around them to make it the last broadcast of the games.
     Some of the physics flies out the window, but maybe a lot of it is staged and is an illusion. Gravity seems to not be an issue in some scenes. Injury seems also to be convenient so that when at points they might get a horrid wound, only to find some kind of antidote. In the books, Peeta loses a leg.He doesn't appear to have lost one in this. Someone attaches a wire to an arrow and somehow it doesn't fall to the ground before reaching the target, from the weight of the wire, but okay. She was shooting CG arrows anyway. But it's a fantasy movie with mutant calling birds and snarling baboon things.
     The funniest unintended line was when someone referred to a character called Flavius and it sounded like they said 'labia', causing the audience to chuckle.
     This movie is a fun and enjoyable dark fantasy action thriller, more so than the first, and this time they're not trying to hide the similarities to other movies, but to relish in it.
     The preview beforehand for Divergent is ironic and the cover and dystopian premise for that series is taken from...the Hunger Games.
Review by Adam Browne