Movie Review: Hunger Games – Catching Fire

Good news book nerds: The adaption of Catching Fire was aaaah-mazing. When I walked out of the theater yesterday, I felt like I’d just re-read the entire book. I loved how the film remained true to Suzanne Collins’s dystopian world and brought it to life in the most enthralling way possible.

Two big thumbs up!

Everything I expected, everything I wanted, made it into the movie. From the fiasco at District 11 during Katniss and Peeta’s Victory Tour, to Wiress’s sane/insane “tick-tock, tick-tock” muttering, to Gale’s ominous “Katniss, there is no District 12.” line. And then there were the smaller details I’d hoped to see, but didn’t expect, like Finnick’s flirty sugar cube offer, President Snow’s bleeding mouth ulcers, and Johanna Mason’s shocking, but hilarious strip down in the elevator.

There were even direct lines from the book that made it into the film, including Katniss and Peeta’s conversation about their favorite colors (green and sunset orange). And, my personal favorite, Peeta’s simple promise to Katniss: “Always.”

Of course there were tweaks here and there that diehard fans might notice–like the reason for Gale’s flogging (book: illegal hunting; film: interfering/tackling the new head Peacekeeper). But let’s remember: this is a movie and not all audience members are bookaholics like us. So, some details must be sacrificed for the greater good and to keep things moving along. And, in my opinion, the details that were sacrificed were so small, so insignificant, that it didn’t matter.

All in all, this was an awesome adaptation of Catching Fire, and I highly recommend both fans of the Hunger Games series and those new to the story to go see it. Of course, I still encourage people to read the books beforehand, because no matter how great a film is, the book is ALWAYS better! 😉

Great job, Catching Fire team. Great job! I’m now looking forward to Mockingjay.

Jen’s Rating

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