Catching Fire (2013)Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth BanksSummary: 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.Rating: 8.9/10 = Front Row Seat!
My Thoughts: I liked the first one, so you know, I must have LOVED this one! It was great, not fantastic, but it certainly did exceed my expectations and it was a hell of a good time to see with my friends. This movie surprised me in a lot of ways, such as the acting. The acting got way, way better in this movie. Even though I was giggling at Jennifer Lawrences' hilarious faces, I liked how real her expressions were. Wiress and Beetee's (Amanda Plummer and Jeffrey Wright) parts were the best for me. I loved the craziness in their acting and how expressive they were. It was wonderful! They were a weird addition to the group, but it was enjoyable to see how they mixed in.
In this sequel, I feel like it didn't care on from the last movie very well, however, and that's what a sequel should it. It just told another story and it felt like the movie was trying to be a whole new thing. Jennifer Lawrence has definitely gotten places in the acting world and is in a league of her own and she was good, but we must talk about Josh. He wasn't spectacular, but he still won me over as Peeta. Good job, but he could have brought more to the table. Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), great. Effie (Elizabeth Banks), crazy and still so wonderful. Finnick (Sam Claflin)was very good as well. I mean, I pictured Finnick as this muscle-bound hot ass, but he was okay. He had to grow on me in order for me to appreciate his character, unlike in the book where I just was like,BAM! Finick rules, I love him! Then there is Gale (Liam Hemsworth) who really isn't anything special to the movie. He didn't stand out whatsoever to me. Oh, and before I forget, there was Jena Malone and Johanna Mason. This was the perfect casting choice I have seen in a long, long time. She was flirty, mean, fun, sexy all at the same time. It was wonderful to see her acting again. I mean the last time I saw her was that small part in Sucker Punch years ago.
And so, as I said before, Catching Fire was great and presented all these new things, but it was a lot. It was kind of choppy and not well put together, but it made sense. It was good, but tried to hard to be it's own thing. The effects were good, just, for me, a little over the top. They were so good, they looked fake and that just doesn't scream professional to me. Simpler is better sometimes.
But like I said, while watching it, you'll probably only see 2 percent of the things I am mentioning here because you'll get so invested in it. Its very good, but when you think about it afterwords, it leaves you wondering: Was it that good?
In my opinion, maybe.
