Screen Rant- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

[Catching Fire: Film Review]

Now I know it has been a while since I’ve posted but yesterday I went to watch The Hunger Games sequel: Catching Fire.  I am not a huge fan of books turned into films; I really just can’t stand them. Either the essence of the book is not correctly captured onto the big screen or the film production of the book has been completely chopped and changed to a point where you just don’t recognise the book you read.

So you can imagine my hesitation upon going to the cinema to watch Catching Fire. But it had been a while since I last went to the cinema, and coming from a family who are not book nerds like me, my excitement was pretty high when a cousin of mine came to me raving of the book series she had finally read after my constant persistence that she should.  She then insisted we just HAD to go to watch Catching Fire as the book was so good.

On the journey to our cinema I grumbled all the way the film will never be as good as the book. Having watched the first instalment of The Hunger Games last year I was not blown away. It was a decent film which stayed true to the book but I imagined the arena and the games itself to be more intense and bigger, and overall just better. I guess I can be quite picky.

Catching Fire however took me by surprise, I was misled to think the movie overall was 1 hour and 15 minutes. So for the first hour through the movie I was disappointed- the film was good but mainly based around the tours of the districts I feared  my favourite part of the book, where the victors were re submitted into the 75^th Hunger Games, would be either cut short placed into the third film . I was pretty ecstatic when the Games did show.

I adored the film I felt it had stayed true to the book, whilst remaining uncomplicated for those who haven’t read the books to follow. I think you can’t fully appreciate the film unless you do watch it in the cinema, as the atmosphere and the graphics are suited to the big screen. The arena comes alive and keeps you at the edge of your seat jumping and in fear at each of the trials. It was brilliant knowing what was coming next and hearing the horror and gasps from the audience.

 If I was to nitpick there were areas that could have been cut shorter or out completely as the movie did drag slightly, but I overlooked that because I really did enjoy the film. The relationship or should I say  ‘love triangle’ between Katniss, Peeta and Gale was a bit cringe at times. I didn’t feel the love between the characters, the passion was lacking. But it could be argued Katniss was too busy with the disturbance in the districts to fully focus on love and left Peeta and Gale to pine after her. It was also a relief that the movie didn’t focus heavily on the love triangle, but more on the revolution plot instead.

On the whole I would give this film 4 stars with one extra for Elizabeth Banks and her portrayal of Effie Trinket. The styling, the acting and her hair! She easily is my favourite character of the film by far.