Confession time: I did not see The Hunger Games in theaters when it came out. Having graduated high school in the previous century, I am not the target age demographic for most of the YA titles that seem to be making their way to the theaters these days. This, combined with the mixed reviews for the first film, pretty much kept me away. It wasn't until this month that I even bothered to watch it, and only then because I had heard some good buzz about Catching Fire, and because it was streaming on Netflix.
I liked the first one well enough, although it wasn't without its problems. The sequel, while still with some flaws, is much better. Like all sequels, everything seems to be bigger. The contrast between the privation and misery of the districts and the oblivious extravagance of the Capitol is greater, the stakes are higher, and the obstacles found in the arena more terrifying. Too often this can lead to a franchise getting overblown and creatively empty. In this case, however, it helps the movie.
Also helping the movie is the introduction of Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the new game master, a character who is all about "moves and countermoves". His icy gamesmanship plays well with Donald Sutherland's wrathful dictator President Snow, so much that I would have probably enjoyed a version of the movie that was just them sitting around a table, watching monitors and discussing what to do as the rebellion started by Peeta and Katniss' defiance in the previous Hunger Games slowly builds.
Alas, that is not how the movie actually is, but there is still plenty of good things going on. I like the twist of the Quarter Quell, bringing previous winners of various ages into the mix. Not only does it reduce some of the squickiness of teenagers fighting each other to the death, it also creates a situation where more excellent ringers (such as Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, and Jena Malone) can be plugged in. It also creates a way to return our main characters to the arena of the games that actually works in the context of the story.
The biggest problem I had with the movie is the "love triangle" that seems tacked on just because it's expected of YA series, particularly those with a female protagonist. While nowhere near the awfulness of the Twilight series*, it just feels tacked on and unearned. It somewhat distracts from the performance of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as Katniss and Peeta.
That being said, it's just one part of a film that is pretty entertaining. Like many middle segments of franchises, it doesn't really have an independent beginning or end. This isn't really a detriment to the movie. However, I would recommend watching the first one before seeing this if you've never seen or read anything from the series, otherwise you may get lost. Haters of cliffhangers beware, as this one ends on a cliffhanger that sets up the next two films based upon Mockingjay, the third and final book in the series.
Verdict: Strong Recommendation, if you liked the first one or the book series. If you've never seen the first one, watch it and then watch this.
*Very few things reach the awfulness of the Twilight series
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