Movie Review: The Hunger Games Catching Fire - the odds of franchise greatness are in its favour...

Possibly the biggest problem faced by any film adaptation from a source novel is the line between being too faithful, and not faithful enough.  'Catching Fire', adapted from the second novel in Suzanne Collins' 'Hunger Games' trilogy, succeeds confidently, if not entirely, in pulling this off.  And this is no mean feat, when you consider that the source material is the middle section of an ongoing saga - and is also a slow build-up to another trip to the arena, which might have been an excuse to retread the original.

This is a long film, and anyone who found the first half of the preceding movie, prior to the events of the games itself, to be slow and uninvolving, will likely struggle also with the first half of this film.  But, as anyone who has read the novels will tell you, there are machinations here - both within heroine Katniss Everdeens' (Jennifer Lawrence) personal life, and the wider political setting of the novels - which are vital to set up the events of the final novel.  However, there are two positive things about this section which, to my mind, makes this film an improvement on the original.  Firstly, there is time to explore the emotional fall-out of Katniss and Peeta's 'victory' in the arena in the first film - how they have been affected by the traumatic events, and how this - and their 'love affair' - has affected those closest to them.  Secondly, as the film offers opportunity to open up the narrative scope beyond the book's focus on Katniss' perspective, we get to see more of Donald Sutherland's President Snow and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the new Games Runner, Plutarch Heavensbee.  Sutherland especially has some better scenes than previously, and we get a nuanced take on what could have been a simple villainous turn.  Ruthless dictator he may be, you can't help but like him - which is often the case with these types of political leaders, as they win over great support despite their vulgar abuses of power.  Despite these positives, anyone who felt the portrayal of the television and media to be tonally jarring in the last film will most likely feel the same way about the similar scenes here - however the series as a whole carries powerful messages about the power of the media and propaganda it's hard to see how the films would work without them.

The second half of the film, as with the novel, had the potential to be the weakest part, as Katniss and Peeta are sent back to the Arena to be part of the 75th Hunger Games.  This could have easily been a simple rehash of the first film, but thanks to a great ensemble of supporting actors, and solid direction from series newcomer Francis Lawrence, this section works very well - and in some ways is more enjoyable than its equivalent in the previous film.  There were many raised eyebrows at the choice of Lawrence as director on a franchise like this, given the mixed response to his previous work.  However, he has proved to be a shrewd choice - whilst his direction is hardly ground-breaking or virtuoso, he handles the action and effects solidly, and gives each supporting actor enough space so that they are able to make the most of what might have been quite limited or sketchy roles - especially Jena Malone as Joana Mason, and Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair (especially as their back-stories are not fully revealed until the final novel).  Although Jennifer Lawrence is the head-liner of this film (and an Oscar winner to boot), it is a credit to her and her supporting cast that no other character feels underused or underdeveloped.

'Catching Fire' does enough to overcome most of the problems it could have had - although some might feel the first half could have been trimmed down more, once they've seen the next films it's easier to appreciate that it would have been difficult to. As the middle part of a trilogy the ending may not be satisfying to all viewers, but there's no denying its power.  It makes the prospect of the next two films an enticing one -and this is the sign of a great franchise, where you want to see more. 'The Hunger Games' is shaping to be an essential blockbuster franchise, with engaging performances from the leads and supporting actors, and underpinned by powerful social and political commentary.  'Catching Fire' takes the series from strength to strength, and if you've read the novels, you'll know that the most powerful and affecting parts of the story are yet to come.