The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I saw the second film in the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire, two days ago and I still don't know what to say about it. It was the last project Philip Seymour Hoffman worked on before his death, and so we will have films featuring him until the year 2015, which will seem ghoulish by then. He has only a small but critical part in this film, as the new game designer, who crafts the 75th Hunger Games, which is supposed to be a doozy. Question: since there is only one Hunger Games a year, how does one become a game designer? Are there regional Hunger Games?

The first film was a dutiful if not slavish visualization of a very good book that combines the elements of reality television with the barbarity of war. The film picks up after Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Millark (Josh Hutcherson) have become the first co-winners, and use a charade of a love affair to whip up popularity. They embark on a victory tour of the other eleven districts of Panem (for those who need background info, I refer you to my review of the book and first film). They start to quietly rebel, much to the consternation of the president (a wonderful Donald Sutherland).

He and Hoffman agree that Katniss needs to die, and dream of something right out of reality TV: an all-stars Hunger Games. Past winners are chosen as tributes, regardless of age, but unlike Survivor or The Amazing Race, this is a game you don't want to have play twice.

As with the first film, the first half is exposition and the second half is the games themselves. The novelty of the first film is gone, but the game portion still is interesting, as this time we get a poisonous fog and bloodthirsty mandrills as dangers to be overcome. We also meet a few other contestants, such as the egghead Jeffrey Wright and the spunky Jena Malone (who offers the only sexuality in these films when she strips down in an elevator).

In certain respects, like many middle segments of a trilogy, Catching Fire is a placeholder, a bridge between the stand-alone first film and the finale (although that film, Mockingjay, will be in two parts). The most important part of this film is the last five minutes, when allegiances are revealed.

Jennifer Lawrence is in a whole different part of the stratosphere than she was when the first film debuted. She's good, and the role is allowed to breathe a little. The love triangle between her, Peeta, and her quasi-boyfriend Gale is a bit too Twilight, but I guess that's to be expected.

I will see the the end of this, just to see how Sutherland gets his (is there any doubt?) I haven't read the last two books, so don't tell me.