Catching Fire Movie Thoughts

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Is it just me, or was that a really quick two hours and twenty minutes? The pacing felt incredibly fast. One of the reviews warned that the pre-Capitol portion of the book was given a very slim treatment, so I was expecting things to slow down once we got to the parade, but for me, they didn't. Victor-family being my favorite part of the second and third books, I was hoping to spend more time with the victors in prep, but we got just enough so we'd be able to recognize the characters who play significant roles in the super-alliance. Even the arena felt rushed--the pauses between action were short (though the writers managed to wedge in some important character moments). I really hope there's a lot of deleted scenes to enjoy in the DVD.

Overall, I very much liked the film. Most of the elements that were disappointing were things I expected and so have been girding myself for, so I was able to focus on appreciating the parts that I found pleasing, including:

* Jennifer Lawrence: genuinely talented, she didn't take a moment to rest in this film. Every motion, expression, intonation was infused with purpose. From her faking having difficulty acting as if she is in love with Peeta during the tour kick-off, to that last shot of her working through shock, grief and fiery anger, she was outstanding.

* Haymitch, Haymitch, Haymitch: The scene in the attic of D11's Justice Building is even better than it comes across in the book; keeping it brief, collapsing the several "wake up Kat and Peeta, life as a victor is going to be terrible" moments into one really lets the emotion fly. Capping it off with Haymitch physically comforting Katniss at the end was sweet, sweet icing on the cake. I pretty much adored all the moments where Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta are playing off each other--in Haymitch's house, during the reaping, on the tour, at the training center. They make a fantastic team.

* Making Plutarch less clown-y and more sinister: Plutarch comes across a bit ridiculous to me in the books--the fur collar robe, the mockingjay time piece, the fatuous, sometimes inane prattle. One of things I've enjoyed about both films is the chance to get out of Katniss's (necessarily) limited point of view. Spending time with Plutarch as he plots with Snow, the choice to give him rather more serious lines, and well, probably some of Philip Seymour Hoffman's acting choices, make Plutarch a much more interesting character.

* Johanna: She's never been among my favorite victors, but the screenwriters, director and actor turned Johanna into the most compelling of the non-Twelve victors. We only get the briefest hints of what's happened to her after her victory, but it was plenty to go on. Malone's delivery was note-perfect, whether the moment was low-key (such as the backstage encounter) or cranked to eleven (when I get the DVD, I'm going to watch her interview segment over and over and over). Judging from the reaction of the audience I was with, I'm not the only one who loved her.

* The moment when Katniss flashes back to shooting Marvel: Shocking, and brought so much across in just a few seconds. I didn't need any more indicators of Katniss's PTSD; that incident said it all.

* The D11 speeches: I expected to start tearing up the moment Mags sacrifices herself and pretty much bawl through Wiress's death, but Peeta and Katniss's D11 speeches were so moving and well-delivered, I needed to bust out the tissues before we even got to the arena. The giant images of Thresh and Rue were a perfect and perfectly awful addition.

* Mag's sacrifice: just as I imagined it. I enjoyed all of what we saw of Mags, but that moment was just as powerful as ever.

* Every interaction between Beetee and Wiress, but especially the clasp of hands before Beetee goes to his individual evaluation. Their moments were fleeting, but you could see how much they cared for each other.

* Seeing Chaff, if ever so briefly.

* The cinematography and effects: Both are important for a sci-fi/action flick, and they were integrated seamlessly. I was especially impressed with the destruction of the arena, which was a beautiful, moving moment. Katniss's training exercise was also fantastically rendered. And I left the theatre with a strong urge to book a Hawaiian vacation.

* Everything Effie wore.


I was less happy with:

* Sam Clafin: I don't like him as Finnick; he's just not what I pictured. I know Finn is supposed to start Catching Fire appearing a bit of a sleeze, but something about Clafin's delivery felt off to me. There were times I saw the dual layer of his character, but the rest of the delivery felt either overly scuzzy or too hard. No accounting for taste, I guess, but he didn't do anything for me, even in the moments when Finnick's at his most sympathetic.

* The briefness of the Capitol scenes: The Twelve victors had a number of lines about how close the victors are to each other, and how warped they are from their experiences, but I didn't think we spent long enough on that portion of the story to actually see it. Apart from brief moments between Mags and Finnick and Beetee and Wiress, I didn't get the sense that they were particularly close to each other (and thus, why it was urgent for Katniss and Peeta to try to make allies, or that Katniss was ambivalent about having to kill them). This is where I most want some extra footage, particularly something showing the victors socializing with each other and Peeta getting to know the morphlings.

* Playing up the love triangle: in the books, I felt like Katniss was mostly oblivious to/unwilling to think about Gale's advances, so the amount of time dedicated to the romantic elements of the story seemed disproportionate to me.

* The virtual absence of D2: I knew it would be that way, but I felt as though we hardly saw them at all. D1 seemed to take up all the 'career' screentime. Perhaps this makes sense, since Gloss and Cashmere die on-screen (as opposed to poor Brutus who was rescued from the arena but somehow Suzanne Collins forgot to put that in Mockingjay), but Enobaria will appear again in Mockingjay so... Yeah, I'm don't think I would have made that choice.

Still, I very much enjoyed Catching Fire. Now that I know what to expect, I look forward to going back to have a closer look/listen at my favorite moments, and perhaps absorbing a bit more of everything that's happening.

Comments

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Given how much you love Mr. Odair, I'm very glad the characterization words for you, and that Clafin didn't let you down.

he just hit all my casual competence kinks with the way he just went about his way with quirked lips doing the rebellious thing where nobody could see.

Yeeees, that is exactly it. Those last moments where he leaves Snow in that control room? Priceless.

I'd expected more Brutus too, after that interview given by the actor. I'm not sure he even had lines.

I don't believe he did, which is sad, given how thoughtful the actor was about the part.