Director: Gary Ross
Rating: 3.75/5
Movies like these are tough to review. For starters, the team behind the movie cannot be blamed for content/storyline, as almost all of that was taken care of by the book this is based on. Secondly, this being the second movie in the franchise, one is constantly looking to benchmark this with the first part and hoping to be pleasantly surprised. And in this case, the makers had a tough act to follow.
They did a fine job of it. Stories of dystopian socieities, an unexpected hero creating a stir, and a subsequent mass uprising are not new to any of us. The fundamental storyline has never been the basis of the success of the Hunger Games franchise. Yet, the movie manages to hold your attention with edge-of-the-seat adventures, choreographed and shot exceedingly well. All this without the 3D label that has becoming a 'given' in action movies of late, and more often than not adds zero value and more eye torture. Undoubtedly, there are moments when the constant flux of life-threatening elements, the deviousness of the game's creators gets to you, but then again, as stated earlier, that cannot be blamed on the movie per se.
The performance of the central characters remains a highlight of the movie, yet again. Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen) and Josh Hutcherson (Peter) do a brilliant job of bringing to life a rather uncharacteristic love story. Lawrence, in particular, pulls off another fine act morphing effortlessly from an astute archer, a fearless woman to a poor girl worried for her family, from a heartless participant to a girl unable to understand her own feelings of love - both the direction and magnitude of it (Bah! who knew it was a vector!). Meanwhile, it's fascinating how the kid from the 2005 'Little Manhattan' has turned out to be a fine young man, finally coming out of his streak of unrequited love.
For people who liked the first part, it is time to get tickets to this one. The thrilling sequences, Katniss' fiery dresses, her ability to look ravishing in the most un-glamorous of roles, the brilliantly crafted sets - make for a fascinating two hours and more.
And with that I sign off.
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