Movie Review: Catching Fire

"Remember who the real enemy is."

So, the last of the movie reviews that are hanging around there needing to be written...maybe.  Because I redboxed a newer movie last night.  But, whatever.  We all know you can't make media decisions without me, right?  (by the way, that was sarcasm.  I learned this past year that not everyone can tell...and that was kind of sarcasm on top of sarcasm).  So, on my outing with myself, I went to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

First thing is first: this was an 150% improvement on the first film.  The first movie was basically a royal disappointment.  It was a slaughter of the books that didn't capture the spirit, intelligence, ideas or art of the series with wooden dialogue and completely unnecessary shaky-cam.  It was a commercialized attempt at creating a popular franchise from a popular book series.  And I guess I can't criticize them, because they did make a commercial success.  But the second movie was different.  It was real, genuine, actually artistic and not just artsy, and did a much better job of leaving the world with something of substance rather than a money-maker.  I don't think the teen media caught that part, but that's a different story.

A slight tangent now about teen media:  I don't think they get a lot of things.  You see them talk about Hunger Games and all they can talk about is how cute Peeta/Gale/Finnick are, and how the story is about being a kick-butt woman.  I think they missed the point.  Exhibit B:  The movie I redboxed last night was Ender's Game.  I like to sort of do a quick internet search about the reception of a movie after I watch it, and the teen media missed the point of that one, too.  It centered around how well Harrison Ford has aged, how hot Asa Butterfield is, and how it's a like a heaven-movie for video-gamers.  Umm...no comment. 

Anyways, back to what we were talking about.  Quick summary: Peeta and Katniss are back from The Hunger Games, and are now Victors.  This means that they get to live in big pretty houses and not worry about food, while the rest of their district is starving.  They then have to go on tour and give speeches to all the of the other districts, as well as acknowledge the families of all the other children who did not live.  Rebellion is rising, which the president blames on Katniss and threatens her that she had better stay with Peeta forever, because it might cover up the fact that she was rebelling, not just in love with Peeta.  Peeta is struggling with his feelings, because he now realizes fully that all of Katniss's love was an act, and that she is really in love with Gale.  Meanwhile, Gale is NOT convinced that Katniss's love for Peeta was just an survival-strategy, and he is struggling with losing the woman he loves.  Katniss is at the point where she doesn't know if she has feelings for either of them, or for both of them. Then, the President announces that for the 75th Anniversary of the Hunger Games, the special Hunger Games is for them to have a Hunger Games made of already-existing Hunger Games victors.  That means that Katniss is definitely going back into the arena, and that either Peeta or Haymitch is.  Meanwhile, Rebellion is rising, and all of the Victors are kind of feeling like they can rebel all they want, because there isn't much more the Capitol can do to them.

WHEW!

 The good:  It was artistic.  It used symbols masterfully.  It was intermittently funny, but touching throughout.  They toned down the sensationalism, I think, and went for a more raw emotionalism, but a more polished cinematography.  I think was a really good choice.  For book adaptations, I am becoming more and more generous about movies not including EVERYTHING from the book. I think that's because I've come to understand that books and movies are not the same art form.  But, you still have to respect the story.  And you still have to bring about the same ends and the same themes.  And maybe you can't develop a character of a symbol or theme the same way in a movie as you do in a book.  And though, the movie didn't replicate the book, it was faithful to the book.  That's what we needed.  Overall, it was a good movie.

The bad:  Really only two things I can say that I didn't like.  One of them, I didn't like in the book either.  Read this carefully:  CPR does not restart hearts.  It merely keeps them going until you can find a way to restart the heart.  I have a solution to this problem.  Ready for spoilers? (Scroll past if you don't want to see)









******SPOILER!******




Finnick carries a trident.  They have an electric forcefield right next to our victim, Monsieur Peeta.  Finnick does CPR.  This would not work.  Why don't we take Finnick's trident, put one end on Peeta, then drop the other end so that it lands on the forcefield.  Voila! Poor man's defibrillator.  It even has enough force that the trident would then fly off Peeta, and he wouldn't be re-electrocuted.

************SPOILER DONE!****************












The other one, I realize why they had to do it, but it was somewhat inconsistent.  Because (SPOILER)











*************SPOILER*****************

Gale gets publicly and brutally flogged for intervening with a Peacekeeper's whipping of an innocent person.  So, the flogging of Gale was an important character development (as well as character-relationship development), and needed to be included.  But in the book, it's because he was poaching, and then sold it to the mayor and didn't know that the mayor had been watched...it was complicated.  And the art form of movie did not lend itself to that kind of complication.  However, with the way the Peacekeepers were doing what they were doing, Gale wouldn't have flogged.   He would have been shot on sight.  In fact, that's what is potentially going to happen when Katniss intervenes with the flogging, but they don't because she's a victor.  Gale's not a Victor.  He's a District 12 Coal Miner.  They don't care.
****************SPOILER DONE!****************














So, those weren't their fault.  It could have been better, but I don't  have specific ways.




 4 Stars.