OMG Catching Fire
Nov. 24th, 2013 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalSaw it. Loved it. Was literally shaking leaving the theater. Incoherent vaguely spoilery thoughts under the cut.
I definitely thought it was better than the first movie, even despite the limitations of the book (being the middle of a trilogy, somewhat retreading the same ground as the first with another round of the Games, the abrupt cliffhanger ending).
Jennifer Lawrence is a FLAWLESS FUCKING GODDESS end of story.
Everyone else is perfect, even Josh Hutcherson, who could play a hobbit with no special effects seriously he is that short is he standing on a box in every scene with Katniss idk. I thought they did a better job with the layering of the fake relationship vs. the real one with Katniss and Peeta. As I mentioned in my review of The Hunger Games, I wasn't sure it came across that Katniss was faking for the cameras while Peeta thought it was real, but the awkwardness between them here and the cuteness of the favorite color scene get it across. Just in time for it all to get blurry again with their bonding during the Victory Tour and in the arena. :)
Liam Hemsworth does not have significantly more to do than the first film, but he gets beaten up really well? The Katniss/Gale of it all seemed sort of perfunctory - I mean, the emotional core is there, Katniss' fear for him and the desire to run away and the horror of his whipping, but as a ~romance, it's more like, "oh by the way here is your annual reminder that there is a love triangle in this story, and now back to your regularly scheduled flogging and murdering." Which... I am mostly fine with, lol, but it amuses me that Liam is the third billed star in these movies. Mockingjay is a LOT more Gale, though.
Sam Claflin nailed it as Finnick, although I had to laugh thinking of his interview where he said he wished he'd worked on the accent more, because it showed, lol. Jena Malone took a bit longer to grow on me, because I think she tries too hard to be edgy in real life, so being-edgy-as-Johanna came off a bit fake at first, but by the time they got into the arena, I was over it.
I vastly prefer Francis Lawrence as a director over Gary Ross. The shaky cam in the first film was bad, but even beyond that, I don't know why exactly, but it was just better. Maybe it's because things I imagined from the book were, for the most part, exactly as I pictured? Especially the arena, which they really needed to nail, given how crucial it is to the plot. There was a lot of dialogue that was lifted directly from the book, enough that I noticed it a lot even though I haven't read the book in at least a couple years. I also felt like the humor was back - the first movie was lacking the dry humor of the books, but this had more lighter moments - which is essential, considering it also has much, much darker moments, too.
I am kind of shocked they managed a PG-13 rating. Granted, they bleeped out Johanna's f-bombs, but like I am an adult who ALREADY READ THE BOOKS and I know what happens and I was still freaking the fuck out at the arena scenes. That shit was appropriately terrifying. JESUS H. CHRIST THE KILLER MONKEYS THO.
Really, the only thing I can think of from the books that was missing was the reveal about Haymitch and the second Quarter Quell. Not only does it go a ways toward explaining why Haymitch drinks, lol, it also plays up the parallel between him and Katniss and their habit of getting one over on the Capitol AND it foreshadows the force field in the arena.
Has anyone else seen it? Thoughts? Feels? Tell me!
I definitely thought it was better than the first movie, even despite the limitations of the book (being the middle of a trilogy, somewhat retreading the same ground as the first with another round of the Games, the abrupt cliffhanger ending).
Jennifer Lawrence is a FLAWLESS FUCKING GODDESS end of story.
Everyone else is perfect, even Josh Hutcherson, who could play a hobbit with no special effects seriously he is that short is he standing on a box in every scene with Katniss idk. I thought they did a better job with the layering of the fake relationship vs. the real one with Katniss and Peeta. As I mentioned in my review of The Hunger Games, I wasn't sure it came across that Katniss was faking for the cameras while Peeta thought it was real, but the awkwardness between them here and the cuteness of the favorite color scene get it across. Just in time for it all to get blurry again with their bonding during the Victory Tour and in the arena. :)
Liam Hemsworth does not have significantly more to do than the first film, but he gets beaten up really well? The Katniss/Gale of it all seemed sort of perfunctory - I mean, the emotional core is there, Katniss' fear for him and the desire to run away and the horror of his whipping, but as a ~romance, it's more like, "oh by the way here is your annual reminder that there is a love triangle in this story, and now back to your regularly scheduled flogging and murdering." Which... I am mostly fine with, lol, but it amuses me that Liam is the third billed star in these movies. Mockingjay is a LOT more Gale, though.
Sam Claflin nailed it as Finnick, although I had to laugh thinking of his interview where he said he wished he'd worked on the accent more, because it showed, lol. Jena Malone took a bit longer to grow on me, because I think she tries too hard to be edgy in real life, so being-edgy-as-Johanna came off a bit fake at first, but by the time they got into the arena, I was over it.
I vastly prefer Francis Lawrence as a director over Gary Ross. The shaky cam in the first film was bad, but even beyond that, I don't know why exactly, but it was just better. Maybe it's because things I imagined from the book were, for the most part, exactly as I pictured? Especially the arena, which they really needed to nail, given how crucial it is to the plot. There was a lot of dialogue that was lifted directly from the book, enough that I noticed it a lot even though I haven't read the book in at least a couple years. I also felt like the humor was back - the first movie was lacking the dry humor of the books, but this had more lighter moments - which is essential, considering it also has much, much darker moments, too.
I am kind of shocked they managed a PG-13 rating. Granted, they bleeped out Johanna's f-bombs, but like I am an adult who ALREADY READ THE BOOKS and I know what happens and I was still freaking the fuck out at the arena scenes. That shit was appropriately terrifying. JESUS H. CHRIST THE KILLER MONKEYS THO.
Really, the only thing I can think of from the books that was missing was the reveal about Haymitch and the second Quarter Quell. Not only does it go a ways toward explaining why Haymitch drinks, lol, it also plays up the parallel between him and Katniss and their habit of getting one over on the Capitol AND it foreshadows the force field in the arena.
Has anyone else seen it? Thoughts? Feels? Tell me!
no subject
Date: Nov. 27th, 2013 03:32 pm (UTC)-J
no subject
Date: Nov. 27th, 2013 06:39 pm (UTC)