Catching Fire Summary (from IMDb): Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.Goodreads: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins
*I read the book before I began blogging, so I never wrote an actual book review*
Review:
This isn’t really a proper book to movie review because it’s been such a long time since I’ve read the book. But I really loved Catching Fire and I’m so glad I saw it.
Here’s the thing: Ever since I picked up Divergent, Shatter Me, Delirium, Perfect Ruin,The Darkest Minds, and other amazing YA Dystopian series, my excitement about all things The Hunger Games related has died out. I wanted to see Catching Fire because I knew it would probably be good, but going into it, I think I was more excited at the prospect of seeing the Divergent trailer beforehand. I know, it’s probably a jerk move for me to just move on and sweep The Hunger Games underneath the rug like that, but I have to be honest. I was just kind of.. meh.
So when I say that Catching Fire was absolutely amazing and it made me want to go home and reread the books and be excited and call my friend to tell her she just HAS TO SEE IT WITH ME, you guys know what a big deal that is. Catching Fire was a great movie that had me excited about the story all over again.
Now, when it comes to the books, I’m a Gale person. I totally understand the Peeta side of the equation, but I’ve never really been a huge fan because I find him to be sort of soft and I find Gale to be challenging and tough and exciting. And the first movie didn’t really change that opinion for me because I still found Peeta to be a little wimpy. In the movie adaptation of Catching Fire, however, I really loved Peeta. I thought the actor captured his character perfectly. I was supposed to fall for Peeta in the book and I never really did, so I totally applaud the movie and actor for getting me to finally fall for him. I saw his strength in a way I never really appreciated in the first movie and the books. I thought I’d see only more of the Gale I already liked in this movie, so this whole revelation surprised me.
The acting was so strong in Catching Fire. The cast was perfect! (Yes, even Finnick was well casted.) The action was great. I thought the movie did a good job of representing the book, too. I got emotional when Katniss addressed Rue’s district. I gasped when Gale ended up in the town square and when the Peacekeeper punched Katniss in the face. I really got into it, just when I thought I was kind of “over” the series.
It’s been awhile since I read the books, but the movie brought everything back. From what I remember, the movie was pretty true to the story. I’m glad I haven’t read it recently, though, because I remember feeling like the first movie wasn’t detailed enough because we didn’t get the narration from Katniss. I thought the audience wasn’t really getting it the way that a reader would, but I don’t know that it’s necessarily true. At least, I don’t think it is true for Catching Fire. I may not remember most of the details, but I thought it did a wonderful job portraying the book.
I highly recommend seeing Catching Fire. I know my fellow fans of the YA Dystopias may feel the same way I did about the series, so I urge you guys to see it anyway!
Bottom Line: Amazing. See this movie.
