The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I saw The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Wednesday 27th November.

Now, first things first, I have read the books of THG so I may make comparisons between the book and film, just a heads-up for anyone who maybe hasn't read them. ( You should, they're AMAZING.)  I will try not give away any spoilers when comparing to the book, but if I think I really really need to mention anything that is potentially spoiler-y I will be all like SPOILER ALERT and write in a different font really small so you know, when the writing goes back to normal, the spoiler situation is over. Formalities over, let's begin! 

Picking up during the so-called 'Victory Tour' of Katniss and Peeta after they won the Games, Catching Fire starts quite uneasily I guess you would say. They still have Effie orchestrating their lives, they still have Haymitch being, well, Haymitch... And they're still faking their relationship for the sake of the survival. This is presented really well in the film, particularly Peeta's heartbreaking real feelings for Katniss being recognised but not reciprocated *sob* 
The scenes in District 12 capture the whole essence of The Hunger Games for me: people rebelling against a repressive system, despite it's controlling levels of fear and intimidation. Katniss' stolen moments of relative peace with Gale and her family are achingly precious, especially considering her supposedly divided heart between the boys. 

I don't think the books or films are really about the "love triangle" though. I think they're more about Katniss' struggle to survive, and her trying to balance self-preservation with making sacrifices for those she loves. Because in her own way she loves Peeta and Gale, just differently. Gale, he represents home, and it's this that keep drawing Katniss back to him.

 Peeta is the only person who can understand the particular horrors of The 74th Hunger Games, and so he is comforting to her - she needs him (as we see during one Capitol scene, painstakingly recreated from the book). 

Their time in the Capitol is so beautifully shot and lovingly recreated from Suzanne Collins' descriptions. There's a BEAUT moment from Effie (that Elizabeth Banks actually ad-libbed because she knew fans would love it) as well as the introduction of Philip Seymour Hoffman's new Gamesmaker. He was so well cast, I can't even. 

(By the way, has anyone ever noticed how in the credits the casting people have letters after their name? Do you have to have a special qualification to cast people in movies?)

Um, another thing, Jena Malone as Johanna Mason?! How amazing was she?! I've never seen anything with her in before but I think she is brilliant. Thank you, specially-qualified casting people. 

Argh there is so so so so much to talk about, but I don't want to give a blow-by-blow account of the film whilst at the same time being really vague and cagey. 

I think obviously the next big thing to talk about/fan-girl over is the ARENA TIME, OH MY GOODNESS. It's so tense. All the time. I genuinely screamed in the cinema at one point (my best friend like died of laughter). It feels so much like you're there with them, going through all of these tortures the Capitol and President Snow can throw at them, due to the acting and the shooting and just, ugh, it's so good. And when things do get a bit too scary, there's always Sam Claflin's beautiful face to make you feel better!

Now, the ending. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOKS - I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH YOU WILL NOT EXPECT THE ENDING. That is all.

On the downside... I think there were a couple of points where it felt like the end, and then it carried on, and it was like how is there more film?! It's quite long basically. And it takes forever to get to the arena, though it is necessary.

Verdict
Overall, I completely and utterly loved The Hunger Games:Catching Fire, as a fan of the book series as well as the first film. You'll be totally compelled, intrigued, and sometimes terrified by it - go see it!

Look, here are the books, read them if you can!

RK.