By Taylor Breckles (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 27, 2013
 
The theatre was packed, even at the 10:30 p.m. showing; this was a near marvel for a girl who doesn’t typically go out past 10:00 p.m.
Judging beyond the packed theatre, the film was very good overall. The first few minutes rushed through about 50 pages of the book, which was disconcerting. During those first critical minutes, there was a lot of information that wouldn’t make a lot of sense—or have the right impact—unless the audience had already read Catching Fire. I understand that movies can’t possibly fit every detail from the book into the film, but the amount of information that was bypassed completely was a bit much.
That being said, the remainder of the film followed the book pretty accurately. I must say that as far as book-to-films go, the Hunger Games series is definitely one of the better ones. Naturally a couple things have to be changed, but the transition between worlds works fairly well.
The romance aspect of the movie, however, is really overdone compared to the book. In the series, Katniss Everdeen is a fairly reserved girl who doesn’t display her emotions often. Usually, she is even unsure of how she feels. Yet in Catching Fire she smooches everybody! Alright, maybe not everybody, but she does lay on the kisses fairly thick in this film compared with the sparse moments in the book. At certain moments, she kisses somebody—I won’t spoil who—when it really wasn’t necessary. It brought me out of the moment. This second installment of the series makes Katniss appear to rely on a kiss instead of verbally expressing what she wants; not that she’s a reveal-all kind of character, but the romance is a bit excessive.
Even with the added romance—which I’m sure fans don’t particularly mind—there is still plenty of murderous action, Capitol schemes, deception, and humour to captivate every type of audience. I was actually surprised with how cheeky Katniss was in this movie. I remember thinking to myself that Jennifer Lawrence herself was commenting in certain moments, as Katniss’ comedy was similar to that of her portrayer. Yet there are also some comedic moments that fit very well in the scenes and add a touch of lightness to the emotionally dense movie.
Katniss also sheds quite a few tears in the film, and I’m grateful that those moments aren’t overly Hollywood; her emotions look very real, not beautified. The act of crying doesn’t typically look as beautiful as it is portrayed in a lot of movies, which is why not glorifying Katniss’ emotional breakdowns adds a realistic and relatable touch.
Despite the additional romance, a few out-of-character acts, and distracting shaky cam in a few scenes, Catching Fire is a fantastic movie. The costumes are brilliant, the sets looked true to description, and the new cast blends in beautifully. Catching Fire kept me engrossed with its constant display of emotion, action, and intrigue. Definitely a film worth watching.
