The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games (2012) pleasantly surprised me. Unusually for a YA lit adaptation, Gary Ross's film matched action with clever plotting and sharp characterization. Propelling Jennifer Lawrence to super-stardom was an added bonus. The sequel, Catching Fire, bites off more than it can chew; despite some interesting ideas, it's mostly a letdown.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Everdeen) becomes a national celebrity. She's forced into a stage romance with her partner Peta Melark (Josh Hutcherson), touring PanEm to bolster the regime. But she also becomes a symbol of rebellion, inspiring protest against PanEm's government. Fearing revolution, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) replaces the standard Hunger Games with the Quarterly Quel, pitting past winners against each other. Thrust back into the games, Katniss and Peta from a testy alliance with several tribunes, including over-helpful Finnick (Sam Claffin), ax crazy Johanna (Jena Malone) and tech savvy Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), in a new game masterminded by the spidery Plutarch (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).

Catching Fire works best in its first hour, exploring the Games' traumatic after effects. Katniss suffers shellshock over her role in the game, a celebrity with no control over her life. She and Peta aren't content being mouthpieces for the regime: when Katniss shows compassion for fallen friend Rue, she initiates a demonstration culminating in summary executions. Snow's government becomes a more substantial threat, troops launching mass arrests and razing entire villages. On some level, you almost wish Fire could elide the arena action entirely.

But Catching Fire must deliver the blockbuster goods, and that's where it falls down. The middle third merely rehashes the original: the gaudy ceremonies, Caesar's (Stanley Tucci) talk show, the training scenes and tearful departures. Act Three at least injects some variety: Director Francis Lawrence shoots the violence in more straightforward fashion than Gary Ross's handheld style, while new menaces like poisonous fog and some monstrous monkeys work reasonably well. Even with the new wrinkles, these passages are underwhelming; what was inventive the first time around makes little impact in Fire.

Catching Fire's main problem is less familiarity than narrative clutter. The movie's never dull exactly, but it certainly feels overstuffed at 146 minutes. Too much time is spent establishing plot points for future chapters, not allowing Fire to work as its own story (a common sequel ailment). The early themes and plot strands grow constricted by the need for violent action. Characters like Plutarch and a grizzled military officer (Patrick St. Esprit) appear fleetingly, presumably foreshadowing more prominent roles to come. At least Lawrence (or novelist Suzanne Collins, more likely) ends things on the perfect note.

Jennifer Lawrence does a stellar job selling Katniss's increasing despair and defiance. But Josh Hutcherson's Peta still feels flat, and Liam Hemsworth's stiff acting undercuts Gale's more substantial role. Nearly all the major players from the original return: Donald Sutherland gets a meaty upgrade from vaguely menacing bit player to sinister villain. Elizabeth Banks gives her heretofore goofy character surprising gravity. Woody Harrelson's character maintains the right balance between humor and pathos.

Catching Fire enlarges the supporting cast, to mixed effect. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is fine, but his actual character makes little impact. Similarly, while Jeffrey Wright's always welcome in any movie, his presence doesn't amount to much. Sam Claffin and Jena Malone fare better as two of the more prominent tributes.

Second installments of franchises tend to be difficult sells. You have to advance the story in new directions while delivering similar thrills to the first one; often they're more set-up than self-sustained. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire isn't anywhere near bad, but its main achievement is getting me excited for the third installment.