Plot
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 7.4/10 (5,673 voted)
Critic's Score: 75/100
Director: Francis Lawrence
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Storyline
Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.
Writers: Simon Beaufoy, Michael Arndt
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence -
Katniss Everdeen
Liam Hemsworth -
Gale Hawthorne
Jack Quaid -
Marvel
Taylor St. Clair -
Ripper
Sandra Ellis Lafferty -
Greasy Sae
Woody Harrelson -
Haymitch Abernathy
Josh Hutcherson -
Peeta Mellark
Paula Malcomson -
Katniss' Mother
Willow Shields -
Primrose Everdeen
Donald Sutherland -
President Snow
Elizabeth Banks -
Effie Trinket
Bruce Bundy -
Octavia
Nelson Ascencio -
Flavius
Lenny Kravitz -
Cinna
Stanley Tucci -
Caesar Flickerman
Trivia:
All three of the songs Ed Sheeran submitted for the film's soundtrack were turned down. See more »
Quotes:
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User Review
Author:
Rating: 10/10
Some stories are built on passion, some on courage and some on hope.
Very rarely do you come across a love story that encompasses itself
around a life-or-death contest. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
introduces us to the world of Katniss Everdeen, who mirrors the most
innocent of sentiments which lie locked up within the depths of our
heart. She wins us over in the first frame, because she is one among
us. It is not her heroism which makes her a heroine, but her
vulnerability which makes her endear-able. The audience falls in love
with Katniss because she is scared of the unknown just like us. What
makes her a hero is her conviction and spirit, which makes her embark
on a wide-spread journey for the search of love and faith. It is
somewhere in that journey, that you no longer root for Jennifer
Lawrence and her victory, but for Katniss and her belief, which makes
The The Hunger Games: Catching Fire a winner right from the opening
credits.
Her name is Katniss, Katniss Everdeen. Brought up in an unforgiving
society, Katniss battles the alternate evils of racial profile and
scornful peers with equal focus, trying to make sense of the world that
burns homes, bullies people at school and make a false show of
sympathy. She goes by the doctrine of the Mockingjay, which teaches her
that there are two classes of people in the world, those who are good
and would offer a lollipop and those who are bad and would point a
sharp stick. There is no caste, creed or religion but just people who
shape the world. It is this philosophy which Katniss carries forward in
her love and faith, painting her journey in a collage of alternate
light and dark emotions, shadow plays of human nature which guides her
to the world or perhaps, guides the world towards her.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is appreciable because of its
brilliance, acceptable for its nobility and unquestionable in its
integrity. Suzanne Collins weaves in a tale of love, faith, strength
and humanity within a cinematic frame of timeless minutes pulling out a
riveting and compelling human drama of innocence poised against the
system, through the filtered sensibilities of a patient suffering from
the effects of unjust society, one who cannot understand the world, but
love it enough to change it. The keynotes of each frame, drenched with
subtle social comments and complex emotional undertones makes the movie
an amalgamation of the colors of hope and persistence, with layered
textures of unspoken bonds. With Katniss Everdeen, Collins succeeds in
bringing the system on trial through the eyes of one who cannot bias
herself on any ideology, making her emotions pure and though provoking,
which touches the innermost chords of the heart, moistening the eyes
and serenading the senses.
The story is filled with emotional subtexts which move at breakneck
speed throughout the length of the film, constantly switching gears
between the palettes of emotions. The dialogs exude class and
confidence holding grip of the story yet laced with the finesse that
allows for emotional drama combined with spiritual uprising, casting a
dark satire on the entire system and its treatment of identities. The
script penned by Collins is one of par excellence, allowing the
audience to blend into Katniss through her smiles and tears, laugh in
her joy and cringe with every blow dealt to her. The screenplay drops
hypocritical moral ambitions to make scathingly relevant comments on
modern outlook of the world, making it rise several notches above
anything attempted in modern-day Hollywood.
In the end, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire becomes the experience it
is because of Katniss and Peeta, essayed flawlessly by Lawrence and
Hutcherson. Lawrence exudes the spirit of Katniss in every breath and
pulse of the film, putting in a performance that is beyond any
benchmark of excellence. She controls every single emotional nerve of
the audience with vacant stares and dimpled smiles, towering like an
illusionist conjuring up a magical performance of a lifetime. She
breaks every stereotypical mould attached to her to rise like a phoenix
from the ashes with Katniss, who reigns over the audience in a sweeping
wave of emotions, establishing a bond that scales beyond the arc-lights
of the 70mm screen. She is complimented by Hutcherson whose very
presence lights up the entire room with just a flashing smile. He
balances the sensitivity of love and charm with the emotional conflict
of a ravaged heart with effortless poise. The interactions between
Hutcherson and his merry company form the highlights of the film,
filled with the cackling chemistry of a uninhibited passion,
captivating the audience in the mesmerizing spell of the couple. Woody
Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy delivers a matured and restrained
performance while Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne blends in simplicity
with sensibility in a performance that comes straight from the heart.
Donald Sutherland is exceptional as President Snow in his mannerisms
while the supporting cast all deliver credible performances including
Jena Malone in a dazzling cameo.
There will always be movies that enchant us with their magic, but there
will hardly be a journey that goes beyond cinematic borders to deliver
the experience of a lifetime. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is
undoubtedly the new face of global cinema that enthralls with each
passing frame, healing the hidden scars of the heart with its message
of a better and humane world. There might be superheroes, but there
will never be one Katniss Everdeen, who takes pride in being ordinary
and yet changes the face of her world.
Earlier time scales used B.C. and A.D. to mark important events. After
14th December 2012, the scales of humanity would mark the world before
and after the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
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