The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

Written by Simon Beaufoy & Michael Arndt

Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson

At a time in which we are drowning in melodramatic, hormone-soaked young-adult trilogies, The Hunger Games has stood out from the pack as something of more substance. Sure, it has a few of the shortcomings that define the genre it struggles to escape, but it has a far greater message than the insipid Twilight saga could ever emulate. Catching Fire continues where the first film left off, scorching the screen with enough visually arresting set-pieces and nail-biting moments of tension to tide us over until the trilogy comes to an end next year.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is forever changed after her traumatising experience in last year's Hunger Games, a televised competition in which young "tributes" from each outlying district of the Capital are forced to kill each other. Now living as a media darling in a fake relationship with fellow survivor Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), she unwillingly becomes a symbol of revolution for having broken the game's rules. So dangerous is the possibility of rebellion that the Capital's leader, President Snow (Donald Sutherland), plots Katniss' demise, and the best way of seeing it done is through the Quarter Quell, the celebration of the Hunger Games' 75th anniversary. The occasion is to be honoured in an unprecedented event - a Hunger Games in which all of the tributes are drawn from the pool of former victors.

There is a clear and present sense throughout the film that this is the middle child of the Hunger Games family. Strangers to the saga will be confused by the terminology, the rituals, the odd character names. (It was difficult not to laugh at the arrival of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character, Plutarch Heavensbee.) What impresses about this second installment is the ambition of the set pieces and their execution by director Francis Lawrence, whose stylish film Constantine is an old favourite. Things take a long time to warm up, as before, as important new relationships are established and the stage set for the finale. There's also plenty of time dedicated to the stellar adult cast, and to giving the work of costumer designer Trish Summerville the spotlight - she has outdone herself with the remarkable, gaudy fashion of the Capitol. While the machinations of the revolution are effectively communicated, and the attempts by the tributes to have the Quarter Quell cancelled amuse, the film really gets its legs when the titular games begin.

The new tributes are an interesting bunch, and the interplay of alliances and betrayals is, as always, riveting - Jena Malone (Gretchen from Donnie Darko) is a standout, and a reflection perhaps of the girl that Katniss may have become had she walked out of the last Hunger Games alone. It is, however, the arena itself that is the most interesting character, with its variety of gruesome traps and psychological stings. There are some key emotional moments of loss and sacrifice present, but overall something of the brutality present in the original is lacking. A shame, really, as the unflinching nature of the first film was what made it so engaging.

Lawrence is less risky with his cinematography than his predecessor was, but there are some outstandingly framed shots, one in particular which appears near the film's close. Everything is tightly scripted, scored and choreographed - that is, until the finale. The last five minutes, wherein a few startling character transformations and revelations are suddenly brought to light in a flood of exposition, are indicative of a rush job that does this sophomore effort a disservice. It is as if the story is lacking a bookend, which the audience already knew, and the filmmakers haven't bothered to fill the space. The last image before the credits roll, designed to show a breaking point/transformation of a character, actually comes across as kind of silly. And once again, the music on offer in the credits is rather dismal.

Despite these failings, Catching Fire remains ahead of the pack in today's young adult offerings, and it will be exciting to see where the series takes us in 2014. Unfortunately it looks like the Twilight method of splitting the last tale into two films is being used, so one can only hope that Suzanne Collins' source material, and the execution thereof, is dense enough to take Katniss Everdeen's tale to the conclusion it deserves