The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is based on the book Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
Catching
Fire commences six months after the conclusion of The Hunger Games, where
Katniss and Peeta are expected to visit each of Panem’s districts on their victory
tour. For this tour Katniss is given a special task by President Snow - convince everyone, especially Snow himself, that her supposed all-consuming love for Peeta is real; that her final act in the arena was one of desperate love, not rebellion. Snow is looking to distract and appease the increasingly agitated, overworked and underfed people of Panem who have rallied around Katniss after her defiant acts in the games; but the people of Panem are fed up being exploited by the Capitol and find themselves at the brink of a revolution. Katniss and Peeta start their tour in District 11, the
district of Katniss' ally, little Rue, and Thresh, who showed Katniss mercy rather than kill
her when he easily could have. In thanks
and commiseration Katniss and Peeta donate to Rue
and Thresh’ families one month of their winnings every year for the rest of their lives. Katniss and Peeta receive a three finger
salute followed by Rue’s whistle. This sign
of defiance against the Capitol means the death of the old man who initiated
the salute. Their visits to the
remaining districts make it clear to Katniss and Peeta that the people of Panem
are rebelling against the Capitol, and an uprising may be unavoidable.
It becomes
clear to President Snow that Katniss is very much loved by the people of Panem,
and that she has become a symbol of rebellion and defiance. He is adamant that she must be killed. Plutarch Heavensbee, the new head game-maker,
convinces Snow to make Katniss the darling of the Capitol instead – to make the
rebels hate her.
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| Katniss and Peeta at the Capitol party held for them at President Snow's mansion |
Back home Katniss and Peeta find it even harder to return to their normal lives when stricter restrictions are placed on District 12. New peacekeepers enforce the Capitol's law with an iron fist. Following a certain successful intervention by Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch, President Snow realises that all
former victors have a kind of power that he is not comfortable with.
As reminder to all of Panem that nobody is beyond the reach of the Capitol, that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the Capitol, President Snow declares that the tributes of the 75th Hunger Games will be reaped from the existing pool of victors. He means to eradicate what he calls Katniss’ species – have former victors kill each other and in so doing he removes the threat the former victors, the darlings of the public, pose to the Capitol. As Katniss is the only existing female victor of District 12, she is automatically going back into the arena, and facing older, more brutal tributes who have all tasted victory, President Snow has no doubt that Katniss will not survive the games this time.
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| Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch interfere with the new Peacekeepers' punishment. Harrelson's acting here is top-notch, and perfectly portrays Haymitch's fast-thinking, glib-tongued, drunken charm, hiding a much more serious, very intelligent rebel |
As reminder to all of Panem that nobody is beyond the reach of the Capitol, that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the Capitol, President Snow declares that the tributes of the 75th Hunger Games will be reaped from the existing pool of victors. He means to eradicate what he calls Katniss’ species – have former victors kill each other and in so doing he removes the threat the former victors, the darlings of the public, pose to the Capitol. As Katniss is the only existing female victor of District 12, she is automatically going back into the arena, and facing older, more brutal tributes who have all tasted victory, President Snow has no doubt that Katniss will not survive the games this time.
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| Every tribute this year has tasted victory. Peeta and Katniss survey who they're up against |
Snow even chooses an arena meant to douse her
flame – an island with more water than land.
Film
adaptations rarely do the books justice, but The Hunger Games movies get it
right. Catching Fire is brilliant in every sense, and won’t let even the most
die-hard of fans down. The acting is
superb, the wardrobe and visual effects are stunning and the plot is even more
intense than in The Hunger Games.
Here
are my thoughts on my favourite scenes, and scenes where I would have liked
just a little bit more. Spoilers ahead,
so don’t read if you haven’t seen the movie and would like to go into the
theatre without little details.
Katniss
and Peeta’s appearance in District 11 on their victory tour, and all that
followed, was brilliantly done. It was very
emotional and no less intense and upsetting on screen than it was on page. Jennifer Lawrence in particular outdid
herself here. She was spectacular in
these scenes. Subtle signs of the rebellion
were also cleverly inserted at most District visits and throughout the movie.
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| District 11 |
The announcement that the tributes for 75th
Hunger Games will be reaped from the existing pool of victors was the most
shocking scene for me reading the book, and seeing it on screen was just as
gut-wrenching. Seeing Haymitch, Katniss,
and Peeta’s reactions to finding out that the tributes are to be reaped from the existing pool of victors is without a doubt one of the most heart-breaking moments of the film. Katniss being the only female victor from District 12 is automatically
set to fight again. Peeta and Haymitch each have a 50/50 chance of being reaped. The way Francis Lawrence portrayed this scene, panning between these three characters and showing us their reactions, their disbelief, anger and fear was brilliantly done.
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| Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch on their way to the reaping. I love how Katniss is not wearing a pretty dress to please the Capitol this time around |
During the reaping, seeing
Effie and Katniss silently cry, and witnessing Peeta volunteering, to be with
Katniss, is heartbreaking. The fact that Katniss' mother starts the three finger salute, swiftly followed by Prim and Gale is a beautiful moment where they not only give the Capitol the finger, so to speak, but silently tell Katniss don't worry about us, we support you - go do your thing.
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| Peeta and Katniss return their district's three finger salute after being reaped |
I
loved seeing the vulnerability in Effie this year. While she is undoubtedly Capitol all the way,
she has really come to love Katniss and Peeta, and she too hates what the Capitol
is doing to them. She is not nearly as chipper as she was during the 7th Hunger Games; instead she appears saddened and ashamed. Effie has come to realise that she is playing a role in something that cannot be justified - it's not games, it's war. Katniss and Haymitch’s relationship is
wonderfully portrayed – I LOVE Woody Harrelson as Haymitch. We didn’t get to see too much of him this
time, but the scenes he did have were brilliant. Prim’s maturity and medical skill was
cleverly displayed and foreshadowed her stronger personality in Mockingjay.
I wondered if the film would include Johanna's famous stripping scene, and I am thrilled that it did! Keeping the shots PG13, we still got to experience Johanna's somewhat brash attitude in this attempt to unnerve Katniss. This is very possibly my favourite scene in the movie!
I wondered if the film would include Johanna's famous stripping scene, and I am thrilled that it did! Keeping the shots PG13, we still got to experience Johanna's somewhat brash attitude in this attempt to unnerve Katniss. This is very possibly my favourite scene in the movie!
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| Katniss' reaction to Johanna stripping, was spectacular! |
While
Katniss’ wedding dress is breathtaking, it is the mockingjay dress that really
gave me chills. Snow orders Katniss to
wear her wedding dress to the final interview, much to her dismay, to remind
her of what will never be. After
revealing the gorgeous dress that Cinna designed, Katniss does her famous
twirling, which sets the dress on fire and the dress burns away to reveal a different dress underneath - Katniss is turned into a
mockingjay. After giving this silent
yet very loud “screw you” to the Capitol and Snow in particular, Katniss joins the
other tributes. I always worry that the film version won't do Cinna's creations justice, but they always do. What a lovely scene!
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| Katniss as the mockingjay - the symbol of the rebellion |
Following Peeta’s
interview and the bomb he dropped, the tributes hold hands in unity to show how
angry they are at the Capitol for having to participate in the Games again. This was one of my favourite scenes in the
book, and I am so glad this scene was included in the movie. I love how it showed that the Capitol was
losing control of the situation already; the victors didn’t hate each other
like they had hoped, but were united instead in their hatred of the Capitol.
The
Katniss/Peeta/Gale love triangle was skilfully handled and realistically
delivered. The love triangle is by no
means the central part of the story, it has none of that annoying teen angst so prominent in stories nowadays, and rather than come off cliché Katniss’
true feelings for both Peeta and Gale were believably brought to life, and
Katniss’ struggle to determine who she belongs with is honest, raw and only
just beginning.
The
arena was really well done, very much like I had imagined it (only I expected much more water) - I just wish they
somehow worked in the line “This is no place for a girl on fire”, making
non-readers understand that Snow had the arena set up specifically to send a message
to Katniss; he will do everything in his power to douse the flame she has
ignited.
I
also love all the subtle and not-so-subtle ways the Allies were protecting
Katniss and Peeta in the arena. Blink
and you’ll miss it – if you see it, it’s a clear indication that something bigger is
going on than Katniss or Peeta realise:
Head game-maker Heavensbee, Haymitch and others in positions of power were planning on breaking Katniss and Peeta out of the arena, and to officially start the
rebellion. The tributes from Districts 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 11 had
varying degrees of knowledge about the plan to break the tributes out, and had also agreed to die if necessary in order to keep Katniss and Peeta alive,
because Katniss is the symbol of the rebellion and while she lives, the revolution
lives; Peeta because he is powerful with words, and together Katniss and Peeta can lead the rebellion. Plus, everyone knows Katniss wouldn't keep an alliance with the others and co-operate if Peeta got hurt.
Sam
Claflin was undoubtedly the perfect choice to play Finnick Odair – perfect! He
did a really good job highlighting Finnick’s charm and flirtation, but also his
strength. I just wish his relationship
with Annie was made more clear, for non-readers to understand that Mags
volunteered in Annie’s place because Annie is the love of Finnick’s life, and
Mags was sacrificing herself so that Finnick’s love could live – Mags never
expected to make it out of the arena.
Claflin and Lynn Cohen did a magnificent job of portraying Finnick and Mags’ relationship
– so sweet!
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| Mags and Finnick |
Jena
Malone surprised me! Her portrayal of Johanna was amazing. In the book it took
me quite a while to warm up to Johanna, but Malone’s portrayal had me on Team
Johanna very early on. She was fantastic
and brought even more heat to Johanna than I was expecting. She gives Johanna more depth than we get to
see in the book.
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| Jena Malone as Johanna Mason |
Phillip
Seymore-Hoffman was truly great as Plutarch Heavensbee. His acting is so clever
that it is only in hindsight that you realise he was protecting Katniss all
along.
My
only complaint is that the existence of District 13 was not explained to my
satisfaction. Non-readers can’t possibly
know that District 13 was never destroyed in the previous rebellion as Districts 1-12
believe, but is actually hidden underground and fully operational. District 13 was responsible for mining
graphite and nuclear science and technology.
In exchange for not starting a nuclear war with Panem, the Capitol
agreed to let District 13 remain independent, but in secret. At the end of the book Katniss learns that District 13 is now the base
of the rebellion.
The
acting in Catching Fire is absolutely fantastic all round; I’m very impressed
with every single person who appeared in this film. Once again, as with The Hunger Games, the
movie is a very faithful adaptation of the book. Scenes which were added for the audience’s
benefit (in the book the reader only sees what Katniss sees) were still true to
character and plot, and only added to the story.
I would have loved a little more Cinna before the
heart-breaking scene which shall not be named. I also wish movie goers were alerted to the fact that what happened was Cinna’s
punishment for the mockingjay dress as much as to unnerve Katniss right before
the games. All in all, I am very, very
pleased with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I especially love the spectacular ending with a very powerful, memorable last shot. Lawrence's range is prominently displayed in these few seconds where her facial expressions clearly portray Katniss' dismay, sorrow and fear which swiftly turns into rage against the capitol. And so, finally, the reluctant heroine embraces her destiny and turns into a full-fledged rebel leader before our very eyes. We see Katniss turn into the mockingjay.
Speaking of which, the
cast have already started filming Mockingjay, which will be released in two
parts. Mockingjay, Part 1 hits theaters November 20,
2014 and Part 2
arrives November 20, 2015.
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| Jennifer Lawrence filming Mockingjay |
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