The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Title: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Director: Francis Lawrence
Score: 7/10

I have just been to see this movie and I must say I was impressed. It was a marked improvement from the first movie in terms of plot and cinematography. Having read the books, I actually thought it followed the plot almost to the letter (which is rare for films based on books).

However, and this is a bit of a large however, I wasn't thrilled by the acting. We all know Jennifer Lawrence can act; we've seen her in Silver Linings Playbook, but somehow I found her acting slightly theatrical at times. The same certainly goes for Josh Hutcherson playing Peeta. Sam Claflin made a wonderful Finnick on the other hand; he was everything I expected from the character (including the good looks!). Oh and how could I forget Jena Mason? She really did make the perfect Johanna.

The film was beautifully made but I thought the soundtrack somehow felt rushed in certain scenes. For instance, Coldplay during the credits? I mean, I love a bit of Coldplay myself but that really felt random-like someone literally pressed random on their phone and Coldplay happened to blast out.

This brings me to my major problem with the film: the ending. I'm ok with cliffhangers as long as the scene is cut at the right point. Leave it too long and the ending is ruined, which is what happened here. Watching an actress look severely constipated made for a poor finale to an otherwise decent movie.

*The product artwork I use within this review is taken from Wikipedia in order to identify the subject of the review. It is low enough in resolution such that it could not be used as counterfeit or pirated material.