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EDITOR'S PICK
`Hunger
Games: Catching Fire` lacks spark (IANS Movie Review)
Rating: **1/2
The latest installment of the franchise created from Suzanne Collins's young
adult dystopian trilogy, "The Hunger Games, Catching Fire" is even
more gut-wrenching, sleeker with raw emotions and engrossing than its
predecessor, which released in 2012.
Yet, it lacks the elements to sustain itself as an appealing entertainer.
The film begins on a note of suspense, with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence)
killing a man, obviously by mistake and she redeems herself with, "I did
what I did, to survive." This lays the foundation of the film's premise.
But over the next few scenes, the narration gets muddled with time and space not
well established. You might survive this hurdle if you have read the book; the
film does not help you sort this issue.
Over a few minutes of patient and concentrated viewing to figure out the tale,
you realise that "...Catching Fire' picks up soon after the events of the
first film.
After their rule-bending victory in the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta
Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) of District 12 are forced to embark on a publicity
tour. But instead of being euphoric and jubilant, there is a fine layer of
tension brewing not only between the winners but also within the public.
The peace-keeping forces are having a tough time curbing the chaos caused by the
rebels. A three-finger salute and graffiti on the city walls denotes the
insurgence.
President Snow (Donald Sutherland) feels that Katniss' "act of defiance and
not act of love" caused the uprising. And the best way to control the
situation is to eliminate her. But how?
So he, along with the new game-deviser, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour
Hoffman) decide that in the next edition which is the 75th anniversary, instead
of having a normal Hunger Games with fresh recruits, this time the surviving
victors of the previous games would compete with each other.
The narration slides into the 75th Hunger Games and the games continue the same
as in the 74th - but with a few added twists. Surviving in an uninhabited, yet
orchestrated island is the task of the game.
The chore has psychological impact on the players. "It is not about trust,
it's about staying alive." So, killing is the best option. The film gets
engrossing and the tasks get more challenging with poisonous fog, rampaging
baboons and warm blood rain.
The film solely belongs to Jennifer Lawrence. She takes Katniss to a new level.
Her performance in the first edition was good but in "...Catching
Fire", her involvement is definitely gradual and organic. Hutcherson, like
in the previous edition, is wasted.
Jena Malone is great as Johanna the tough girl from District 7 with a
care-a-damn razor sharp tongue. Unfortunately, Donald Sutherland as the
antagonist does not leave an impact on the audience. He is flaccid as any other
incongruous character on screen.
Woody Harleson as Haymitch, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman and Elizabeth
Banks as Effie Trinket provide amusing comic relief to the otherwise intense
film. With layers of make-up and enhancements, their characters lack depth and
enticing power.
Visually, director Francis Lawrence along with cinematographer Jo Willems has
made "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" more appealing with brutal frames,
unique camera angles and futuristic effects. They have also delivered unique
frames with colours ripped off, and this adds a new element of darkness of this
dark story.
Overall, though the director has stuck to the novel giving this reality game
show a larger than life projection with alluring aesthetics, his conversion of
the tale from the novel to screen lacks the required spark to make it an
evocative film.
This film may appeal only to fans of "The Hunger Games".