Like “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” before it, the first adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian “Hunger Games” book series had a heavy burden on its shoulders: the burden of having to set up its fantasy world and lay out its many rules. There was the wealthy and sickeningly opulent city of The Capitol, the twelve impoverished Districts whose citizens live in squalor down below, and the barbaric, Battle Royale-esque Hunger Games the Capitol uses to entertain itself and keep the dozen Districts in their place. Thankfully, also like “A New Hope,” Gary Ross’ YA sci-fi thriller managed to be a very good and very engaging movie as it carefully assembled its universe, flaunting exhilarating thrills, a gripping adventure and a courageous teen warrior in Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen.
But now that all that pesky brick-laying is out of the way, and now we know where we are in the future world of Panem, it’s time to delve deeper into the characters’ journey, introduce some twists and turns and really tell a full-blooded story free from the necessary world-building. As such, you can consider follow-up “Catching Fire” the “Empire Strikes Back” (or “The Capitol Strikes Back”) of the “Hunger Games” saga: a superior, more confident sequel to an already terrific movie which cranks up the emotional stakes and journeys further into the dark side.
Indeed, one of the reasons “Catching Fire” tops its predecessor is that its depiction of its totalitarian society is considerably darker and more brutal than last time round. In the first “Hunger Games,” the powers that be at the Capitol enforced their dominance by randomly selecting children from each district and dumping them inside an arena where they fought to the death until only one stood victorious. Now, fearing revolution, they’re plucking potential rebels from crowds and murdering them on-stage for all to see; in one of the film’s more harrowing scenes, a disobedient citizen is chained up in the street and has his bare back repeatedly lashed with a whip. Donald Sutherland’s cruel and conniving President Snow is not messing around: this is boldly brutish stuff for a tween-oriented popcorn flick, and it makes the Capitol all that more horrifyingly loathsome.
Sutherland’s increased screen-time also gives the Capitol’s oppressive evil more of a presence this time round; not just a faceless entity, it now has a prominent figure in President Snow, a sort of bearded, snowy-haired Emperor Palpatine, if you will. No longer lurking in the background, he’s front and centre, and he is bone-chilling. And there’s not just him: there’s also Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Plutarch Heavensbee (so immersive is the film that we don’t bat an eyelid when his name is first stated), the deviously charismatic new game maker. His conversations with President Snow in which they scheme their oppressive deeds are deliciously dark and carry surprising insight into how fascistic governments control their citizens through careful, calculated manipulation. All this from a tentpole blockbuster.
Yet in spite of their wickedest of efforts, the smell of revolution still hangs heavy in the air, thanks to the flaming symbol of hope that is Katniss Everdeen, the much-loved “girl on fire.” Last time we saw Katniss, she’d just survived and essentially defeated the 74th Hunger Games with fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), and President Snow isn’t vey happy with her: he’s adamant that she be killed and that her symbol of hope be stamped out, and fast. Katniss meanwhile has been undergoing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder following the bloodbath in the arena, making her the second blockbuster hero this year to suffer from PTSD, after Tony Stark in “Iron Man 3.” Which begs the question: are movie heroes becoming more human and vulnerable, or is PTSD just the next big movie trend?
Katniss’ nightmares look set to continue as President Snow announces that for the 75th Hunger Games, victors from previous years will be competing against each other; in other words, Katniss and Peeta are to be plunged back into the arena once again and do battle with experienced killers. Here, the film runs the risk of repeating what has come before, but director Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend”) keeps up the suspense and has a few exciting tricks up his sleeve — there’s one particularly alluring moment where a mysterious cloud of smoke descends silently through the dark of the woods like a killer in the night, revealed to be poisonous mist when Katniss curiously reaches out her hand and her skin begins to bubble and boil.
And of course it’s all guided along gloriously by Jennifer Lawrence, as is the rest of the movie and as was the first movie. Arguably the most gifted young actress working today (actually, after “Winter’s Bone,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and now this, that might be inarguable), Lawrence burns bright, her Katniss probably the best screen heroine since Ellen Ripley did battle with the Xenomorph in Ridley Scott’s “Alien.” Not just brave, intelligent and resourceful, she’s also identifiably human and endearingly reluctant in her feats of heroism; she never asked nor wanted to be a rebel fighter, but when the time comes to fight she’s a born survivor. All the while Lawrence brings to Katniss a strong, rock-solid screen presence, the kind Kristen Stewart — for all her moping and lip-chewing — could only dream of (sorry, Bella!).
I think I know why “The Hunger Games” clicks with me so much: partly it's because unlike “The Mortal Instruments” and “The Host” it’s absolutely 100% convincing in its world-building, partly it's because it has an abiding affection for and a firm belief in its central characters, but mostly I think it’s because Katniss is such a compelling character, and as wonderfully played by Lawrence, she’s a hero you can really root for. Before seeing the film, I’d heard that Collins’ book, unread by me, was disliked by many fans and that its transition to the screen would prove problematic. If that really is the case, then this might just be that rare occasion where a film adaptation outdoes its source material: this is a powerful piece of storytelling, delivering a multitude of shocks and thrills as it darkly depicts the monstrousness of totalitarianism, all while operating under the guise of popcorn escapism. Roll on “Mockingjay,” which, as is tradition, has been split into two separately released parts — like a squealing fanboy, I’m eagerly awaiting both.
Rating: 9/10
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