The fact that the Hunger Games stories are not crushed by their own weight
is mystifying, and an achievement.
It seems crazy that a film whose ideology is as savagely brutal as
the fictional Games would become such a hit. Despite all its violent
connotations and tyrannical regimes, the film comes off as the year’s pinnacle
of entertainment. Maybe the allure lies in ourselves? We project ourselves on
screen. We are Katniss fighting back against the oppressors. The film’s core
audience is essentially the same demographic that would be sacrificed if such
games were ever to become a reality, so maybe everyone is really just preparing
for the future? When the Games start, we’ll know what to expect.
According to IMDB, Post-apocalyptic thrillers are not particularly
big money makers; The Hunger Games franchise being the only series that nearly approaches real
commercial heavy weights. The first two Hunger Games installments together hold
the top grossing spots in the genre, but even then, they don’t come near grossing
anything like the top 50 overall films. Avatar and Titanic are the top two.
Both have over two billion worldwide gross. Still, Hunger Games has a hard-core
devoted fan base that rivals even Twilight.
At the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunger
Games: Catching Fire, young fans camped out for
three days just to be front and center on the red carpet, catching glimpses of
the film’s stars.
The best scenes of the film visually were the ones shot in the
districts. The New
Yorker review
describes these scenes like “Eastern-bloc depression…drained of vitality,” but
Katniss is exactly the opposite. As a hero she is so strong that alleviates the
vitality drainage. Once we leave the districts, the filmmakers deflect the
intensity of the subject matter using Katniss as a distraction. Katniss keeps
the film from being engulfed into an R-rated abyss. I love R-rated abysses, but
they don’t draw fans like Jennifer Lawrence’s strong performances in these
PG-13 flicks.
There were some weaknesses. The coincidence that Katniss and Peeta
would be drawn back into the turmoil was too much, an obvious excuse just to
get Katniss back in the ring. How is that we didn’t hear of these conflicts in
the past film? Surely Katniss and Peeta would have the known the traditions of
the world they live in.
Also, why are all the people in the capital dressed so
outlandishly? How do they assemble for all public events in perfect symmetry?
Why is the President’s only concern with the games? Doesn’t he have other
duties?
What the story lacks in depth, and it certainly does lack, it makes
up for in action-packed, well-shot scenes. Despite an appearance by Phillip Seymour
Hoffman as the gamemaker, the curves thrown at the participants in this rendition
of the Games weren’t as exciting as the first film.
The most annoying thing in the film was Peeta Malark. He is a
weakling and not an interesting character. On the battlefield he hardly
contributes. He seems to function only as a male counterpart to Katniss in the
political spectrum as Katniss ends up fighting battles for two in the forest.
Overall The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was
worth the price of admission, and at 2 hours 26 minutes, it flies by quick.
7.5/10
