I think this instalment was the best movie in the series. It has the perfect balance of action and storyline. It expands the world with more backstory and characters, and the effects were better so it was more convincing and we felt like we were part of this world. The casting was quite fitting.

When I went to see "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", the audience's reaction was very strange. They were angry--angry that the film ended because they really, really wanted more!

The film picks up soon after Katniss and Peeta successfully survive the games. Now, they are to be wined and dined and trotted out from one publicity appearance to another. However, the President (Donald Sutherland) is angry and exactly why, Katniss doesn't understand. All she knows is that he insists that she act happier, act like she is in love with Peeta and do NOTHING to make waves...or people she loves will die! What she doesn't know at first is that throughout the world, discontent has broken out since her victory in the games--and folks see her as a person to rally about, as she is a symbol of hope. So what do you do when you have a symbol of hope? You destroy it--and the President orders a NEW game to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the games...and this game will return Katniss and Peeta to the arena to compete against 22 other Hunger Games winners! It sure seems like certain death!

By the time I saw this film, a zillion other people already did. So I won't discuss the plot any further nor will I offer than in-depth a review. Suffice to say it's a very high quality film just like the first. So, even with a different director, it carries on perfectly from the last. Excellent acting, action and a wonderful plot make this one worth seeing.

By the way, if you are older, you might notice that there is a huge similarity between this film and the original "Rollerball". Both present a world where the leaders want to destroy hope--and in both cases, a hero arises who somehow manages to overcome this nihilistic and fatalistic fate. See them both and you'll see what I mean.

I didn't think much of the first HUNGER GAMES film but nonetheless I was interested to see how this sequel, CATCHING FIRE, held up. The answer is that it's even worse than the first film, a pointless retread of the first film's storyline that bears more than a passing resemblance to the two Japanese BATTLE ROYALE movies.

Once again an ultra slow pacing and ultra lengthy running time combine to make this a near unwatchable slice of boredom. It's incredible that in the whole first hour and a half of the film absolutely nothing happens other than to set the scene and the mood. It becomes instantly apparent that more care was taken with the incessant costume changes and scenery rather than the calibre of the script or the acting, because both are truly mind-numbing.

Eventually the action kicks in towards the end of the film, but it's all as uninteresting and CGI augmented as you'd expect; the 12 certificate just isn't right for a film with this subject matter. Jennifer Lawrence remains a bland and wooden presence as the protagonist, and Josh Hutcherson is even worse; at least newcomers like Jeffrey Wright and Sam Claflin bring a little charisma to their parts. In addition, one of the most unforgivable things about CATCHING FIRE is that it has no ending at all, just a plot development that leads to the next in the series. It's a real cheat.