When the first Hunger Games movie came out I read a lot about it being a very good movie. So I looked forward to checking it out. After having seen it though I did not get all the praise it received. Sure, the movie looked beautiful with impressive costumes, great special effects and detailed sets, but if you stripped all that away it told a story not unlike Battle Royale. Among my friends many of them felt the same wah, so when the sequel was released and again was getting a lot of positive reviews I was cautious. Maybe this would be one of those franchises which wasn’t for me. Still I felt I had to give it a chance.
The basics of the story are still the same as they were in the first movie, with the twist that previous winners will now have to fight each other. Despite that though this movie succeeds in being better than the first film because it raises the stakes and adds a layer of politics and struggle of power. Katniss has become a symbol for the oppressed people and once she realises she wields a lot of power because of it she decides to use it and stand up against president Snow.
The cast of The Hunger Games returns and adds some new characters. The most important one is Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as the designer of the arena’s the fights take place in, a character who knows how to play politics and make sure that he can do whatever he wants without upsetting the president. The battles in this second film are similar to the first one, with some new dangers in store for the participants. If you have seen the movie already I do want to note that to me these dangers made no sense in relation to what happens at the end of the story. I guess I shouldn’t think about it too much, but it was strange. This movie manages to make the viewer feel that something big is about to happen and when this movie ended I actually could not wait to see the next one. In that respect this movie is a step up from its prequel even if it repeats the battles. I never cared too much about the romantic subplot and that is no different here, I’m more interested in the fight for power which will surely ensue.
I liked this one more than the first because it was tighter in its pacing, there was no shaky-cam, the stakes were much higher, and a killer ensemble that included the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, and most of all, THE BEST IN THE WORLD Jena Malone.
Could not describe it better. I am also a big fan of Jeffrey Wright, who has played such a big range of interesting roles in his career. I do have to admit that I had to check who Jena Malone was 🙂
Fair review Nostra. I’ve never seen Battle Royale so The Hunger Games seemed fresh to me when I first saw it. I think the sequel is a bit better than the first to me. Like you, I never cared too much about the romantic subplot either, the political intrigue is interesting though, esp. w/ Philip Seymor Hoffman’s character. He’s the character I most look forward to in the final film, alas …
Yeah, it will be a different experience if you haven’t seen that movie before watching this series. Seems most people agree that the second movie is a tighter and better one.
I’ve not really been a fan of all these YA franchise’s coming out (Divergent looks so MEH I’m debating whether to ever see it)but I have to admit I enjoyed Catching Fire a lot more than the first HG film. Still, one has to hope the Mockingjay films finish off the saga with a decent flourish….
I have not watched a lot of the YA type movies but like you I agree that this one is worth watching.