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"You are not born for yourself but for the world."

Still have an appetite for the Hunger Games?

by Guyanne Sinon on 19/01/2014

The ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ was released in November to a worldwide audience and claimed the spot of the 35th highest grossing film of all time. The action-packed sequel to the first Hunger Games, the plot of which is based in a futuristic dystopian country called Panem, originally grossed over 800 million dollars. Whether it is the gory fighting, the complicated love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale or the sexy gold eyeliner Lenny Kravitz sports throughout the films, it seems the newest teenage craze since Twilight is captivating a much larger audience.


The film starring Oscar award winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, who is well on her way to becoming America's cinematic sweetheart, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth was an epic sequel to the first installment of the franchise. Having survived their Hunger Games Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) and Peeta Mallark (Hutcherson) are Panem’s first dual-victors of the Hunger Games and consequently have to tour the other districts. Since Katniss and Peeta both survived the annual ritual of the Hunger Games the other districts now view this as an act of defiance against the existing Panem government and the Capitol, sparking uprisings across all of the districts. Katniss is told by the President Snow that she needs to convince the districts, during their victory tour, that her love for Peeta was the reason they both survived, not to become a symbol of rebellion for oppressed people across the country. Despite awkwardly making out on the snow, flimsy handholding and a sudden engagement President Snow remains unconvinced and creates the Quarter Quell in which all the surviving victors from the past Hunger Games must compete. And so Katniss and Peeta commence their second time in the killing arena.

 

After a smoldering start it is only when Katniss enters the 75th Hunger Games arena that the film enters into its true element. The prior scenes were all very significant, but dwelled on panning sceneries and numerous seconds of the camera focusing on facial expressions. That being said the sarcastic comments from Katniss’s mentor, Haymich (played by Woody Harrelson), the cringe-worthy outfits displayed the rich elite in the Capitol, and the brutal uprising scenes in the districts are enough to keep you interested. As soon as the Hunger Games begin it is ‘Game On!’ Katniss and her allies are suddenly faced with poisonous gas that causes a horrid looking rash, talking birds that imitate the voices of loved ones, killer monkeys which I have nicknamed were-monkeys and an angry President Snow who wants her “terminated”.

 

Lawrence’s performance in the motion picture adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ series is flawless and the film itself becomes increasingly more compelling as it reaches it climax. Lawrence and her young counterparts do a brilliant job at making the film entertaining; yet still very thought provoking considering it is a fantasy/sci-fi film. Lawrence has once again managed to bring Katniss Everdeen alive and made her character feature on my top ten lists of fictional heroines, alongside Hermione Granger and Wonder Woman.  It is definitely a must-see for anyone interested in fantasy, fighting or even a laboured love triangle. It is also advisable that you see the first film, or better yet, read the novels, as those few people in the cinema who had not done so sat there utterly lost and missed one of the best films of 2013.

 

"We are not born for ourselves but for the world."

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