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[SCULLIBUNDO]

A safe, serviceable, carefully crafted action drama in which the subversive seeds planted in the first story take welcome root.

Todd McCarthy, THR

Catching Fire" makes for rousing entertainment in its own right, leaving fans riled and ready to storm the castle.

Peter Debruge, Variety

... Francis Lawrence... adds some important new pieces to that group and expands the world in a way that doesn't throw out Ross's film, but that uses it as a way to get to something even better.

Drew McWeeny, HitFlix

The rare sequel that surpasses its predecessor, 'Catching Fire' tackles head-on the repercussions of the events of "The Hunger Games," deepening Collins' cinematic mythology while proving that teen-lit is more than capable of tackling complex ideas.

Todd Gilchrist, The Playlist

CATCHING FIRE bests THE HUNGER GAMES in every way. If the trend continues this series will be a political science fiction epic that will endure for generations

Devin lololol Faraci, Badass Digest

A ho-hum sequel that mostly sets the stage for hopefully more scintillating future chapters.

Tim Greerson, Screen International

As an adaptation of Collins's Catching Fire, Lawrence's film is close to faultless. As cinema, it's solidly engaging but consistently underwhelming.

Emma Didbin, Digital Spy

As an action movie, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is an improvement on the original. But as a social, political and pop culture satire, [it] is by definition a mixed bag.

William Bibbiani, Crave Online

 

[kazebyaka]

Excited to watch it. I liked the first one, and judging by an audiobook of this one, it's gonna be quite better.

 

[Tashi]

Looks like it covers more of the setting and world the characters live in in this one. That was something I wanted badly from the first movie. I'm mildly excited.

 

[wenis]

i enjoyed the first one enough to see this new one at a Matinee showing, so at least it isn't poop.

 

[Neverfade]

Good thing they knocked it out the park, cause if the source material is any indication, the next one is going to set a new bar for sucking buttholes.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

YES

I'm worried about the next movie though. I read the books and it's...different. Not as good as the first two.

 

[G-Fex]

well this boring stuff though I find it dull it's not for me however. Enjoy tweens I suppose.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

I'm still very skeptical of these initial reviews. Remember the first reviews for the first film?

http://www.boxoffice.com/reviews/2012-03-the-hunger-games

The Hunger Games is the best American science-fiction film since The Matrix.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Dead]

endure for generations

endure

for

generations

so wow

 

[Pau]

Much rather have pre-teen and teenage girls obsessed with this over Twilight.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Cool, I hope the movie delivers, the book had enough going for it to be a fun film. Looking forward to seeing this.

Good luck with that third book though, it was laughably bad.

 

[3N16MA]

Thought the first film was OK. Will watch this on Blu-Ray.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

endure for generations

endure

for

generations

so wow

I'm still very skeptical of these initial reviews. Remember the first reviews for the first film?

http://www.boxoffice.com/reviews/2012-03-the-hunger-games


:lol :lol :lol

We live in a world of Hyperbole

 

[TheExodu5]

The first film took me by surprise. Some of the action sequences felt a bit silly (fireballs, dogs), but otherwise, it was a well acted and wonderfully paced film. I have moderately high hopes for this one.

 

[Cipherr]

The first film took me by surprise. Some of the action sequences felt a bit silly (fireballs, dogs), but otherwise, it was a well acted and wonderfully paced film. I have moderately high hopes for this one.

This is me to the letter. Sort of looking forward to this. I hope there is less of the 'love' angle though.

 

[megamerican]

The Hunger Games was one of the few movies that even Rifftrax could not make entertaining. The first one had such a blah tone and crappy production values. This one at least looks like a major studio movie.

 

[Loxley]

I'm still very skeptical of these initial reviews. Remember the first reviews for the first film?

http://www.boxoffice.com/reviews/2012-03-the-hunger-games


:lol :lol :lol

What the crap.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

Cash in movie franchise based off mediocre young adult novels is getting tepid reviews. I don't know how to cope with all these surprises.

 

[qindarka]

Cash in movie franchise based off mediocre young adult novels is getting tepid reviews. I don't know how to cope with all these surprises.

Reviews seem to be pretty positive to me, at least for now.

Thought that the first one was mediocre, though.

 

[Schrade]

I'm still very skeptical of these initial reviews. Remember the first reviews for the first film?

http://www.boxoffice.com/reviews/2012-03-the-hunger-games


:lol :lol :lol

Heh that's almost as bad as you squealing for Avatar!

 

[overcast]

Yeah, skeptical about this one. The first one got pretty great reviews and was a meh movie.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I'm looking forward to it. The fact McWeeny, Gilchrist, and McCarthy are all positive on it is interesting, as those three aren't very similar in their tastes, I've found. I read Faraci's review earlier, and yeah, it seems a little extra-effusive, but dude doesn't just get enthusiastic for anything. There's usually something pretty interesting at the core of a film that sets him off. I may not like it AS MUCH as he does, but more often than not I end up seeing why he flipped the way he did.

It's not like the source material predisposes this thing towards being lesser-than. It's a dystopian sci-fi story about a corrupt culture so tilted towards the whims of the rich that the Olympics have become a murderous reality show. There's a reason the story is striking a chord with people, and it's tangential to the dismissive "Oooh, a badass girl with a bow and arrow Team Peeta lol Twilight" bullshit that gets thrown at it.

it's a story that could absolutely be improved by cinematic adaptation, as the books aren't all that well written. But the story has a lot of potential, and if it so happens Michael Arndt and Simon Beaufoy managed to draw that out in their script, Francis Lawrence is solid enough that maybe he translated it to screen pretty well? All the better for the rest of us. That means we got a good movie. There's not THAT many of them being made on scales this large.

 

[Schrade]

Yeah, skeptical about this one. The first one got pretty great reviews and was a meh movie.

I liked the first one. Was entertaining. Wasn't super-awesomesauce!!!1 but it was good entertainment.

 

[Ooccoo]

Still wants to be like Battle Royale, but will always fail.

 

[Gorillaz]

Well, I liked the first one. Kind of overhyped but it was good. Caught it on Netflix(?) or at a buds place. Idk bout spending money on it at the theaters

maybe this one might be different

 

[WorldStar]

My favorite book in the series, by far.

 

[ivysaur12]

First was fine, but by all accounts, this should be much better. The increased budget also helps.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Devin lololol Faraci

That remains accurate, reviews or otherwise.

 

[plasmawave]

"CATCHING FIRE bests THE HUNGER GAMES in every way."

Well I'd hope so. The first one sucked.

 

[Byronic Hero]

As long as the "shaky cam" isn't overused like it was in the original, it'll be better.

For some reason I saw the original at a midnight release and had to sit in the very front row because there were no seats. By the end of the night I had a crook in my neck and a headache from the cinematography.

 

[plasmawave]

Still wants to be like Battle Royale, but will always fail.

Even BR2 was better than the hanger games.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

As long as the "shaky cam" isn't overused like it was in the original, it'll be better.

For some reason I saw the original at a midnight release and had to sit in the very front row because there were no seats. By the end of the night I had a crook in my neck and a headache from the cinematography.

Those reviews mention that Lawrence locked the camera down a LOT more than Ross did.

 

[AlexBasch]

What rating does it have?

Book spoilers

Spoiler

Because shit is fucked up in the second book and then there's the beheading of Finnick by the lizard things. I want to see the gore, dammit.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

What rating does it have?

Book spoilers

Spoiler

Because shit is fucked up in the second book and then there's the beheading of Finnick by the lizard things. I want to see the gore, dammit.

PG-13. And that actually doesn't happen until book 3 (I'm pretty sure), so it will be movie four (book 3 is two movies, lol).

 

[daveo42]

I'm somewhat excited for this movie, but knowing that

Spoiler

Katniss becomes the bad guy by the end of the series

makes me less excited overall. The 3rd book was just not that good.

 

[EliteArtist]

I work at a movie theater currently and I'm still not gonna catch this even with the free movies perk.

 

[EvilDick34]

No matter what you think of The Hunger games movies it still shits all over Twilight. I tried to watch one of those movies and i just wanted to claw my brains out, so horrible.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

I'm somewhat excited for this movie, but knowing that

Spoiler

Katniss becomes the bad guy by the end of the series

makes me less excited overall. The 3rd book was just not that good.

Not really.

Book 3 spoilers

Spoiler

Coin arguably killed Prim and probably would have been just as manipulative as Snow. It was best that she never obtained any power.

 

[Onion_Relish]

I'm somewhat excited for this movie, but knowing that

Spoiler

Katniss becomes the bad guy by the end of the series

makes me less excited overall. The 3rd book was just not that good.

Woahhhh spoiler alerts!
edit: edited spoilers in before i posted. Don't think I didn't catch you

Kidding, I don't care. The first movie was incredibly pedestrian, I don't have my hopes up for this being any better, but I know i'm not getting a Battle Royale sequel any time soon...

 

[kazebyaka]

No matter what you think of The Hunger games movies it still shits all over Twilight. I tried to watch one of those movies and i just wanted to claw my brains out, so horrible.

first twilight wasn't that bad, i mean it's awful but it's so cheesy that it's fun.

 

[EvilDick34]

I'm somewhat excited for this movie, but knowing that

Spoiler

Katniss becomes the bad guy by the end of the series

makes me less excited overall. The 3rd book was just not that good.

I know i have never read the books but how do you come up with that? Seriously im genuinely intrigued.

 

[Trey]

PG-13. And that actually doesn't happen until book 3 (I'm pretty sure), so it will be movie four (book 3 is two movies, lol).

God dammit Harry Potter.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

The Battle Royale comparisons were tired when the books were new. They haven't gotten any fresher since. I used to make em myself. Then I realized I sounded like a dipshit.

The fact teenagers are killing each other is the only thing they have in common, really. Otherwise, they're coming from pretty different places.

Is Battle Royale a better movie than Hunger Games? Yeah. Sure. But it's a pretty superficial comparison to make in the first place. Battle Royale has more in common with "Surviving the Game" or "The Warriors" than it does Hunger Games.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

I know i have never read the books but how do you come up with that? Seriously im genuinely intrigued.

What do you mean? Like how does that happen in the book?

 

[HovaHovito]

Cash in movie franchise based off mediocre young adult novels is getting tepid reviews. I don't know how to cope with all these surprises.

The reviews certainly seem positive to me

 

[daveo42]

Not really.

Book 3 spoilers

Spoiler

Coin arguably killed Prim and probably would have been just as manipulative as Snow. It was best that she never obtained any power.

It's not just that, but a culmination of a lot of choices she makes during the course of the book that contribute to this.

Spoiler

That may have been true about Coin, but that could be said about pretty much everyone that strives for power. It didn't help matters that Katniss' own attitude early on, as well as her willingness to become that symbol of hope that allowed her to so easily taken advantage of.

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

The lack of shaky cam alone guarantees this will be a more enjoyable film.

The Battle Royale comparisons were tired when the books were new. They haven't gotten any fresher since. I used to make em myself. Then I realized I sounded like a dipshit.

The fact teenagers are killing each other is the only thing they have in common, really. Otherwise, they're coming from pretty different places.

Is Battle Royale a better movie than Hunger Games? Yeah. Sure. But it's a pretty superficial comparison to make in the first place. Battle Royale has more in common with "Surviving the Game" or "The Warriors" than it does Hunger Games.

I think Battle Royale fans will probably want to stop with the comparisons now that it seems Catching Fire is a much better film than Battle Royale 2, lol.

 

[The Last One]

The Hunger Games was the most interesting, best-made, ambitious and purely enjoyable American science-fiction film since The Matrix; Catching Fire‘s not only maintains that level of quality but builds on it. This is the middle bit, yes, but it also points out just how big — and how bold — the plan for this series is, and Catching Fire gives fans more than enough to travel hopefully even as they wait, expectantly, to finish the journey.

http://www.cinephiled.com/2013/11/12/review-catching-fire/

 

[daveo42]

The lack of shaky cam alone guarantees this will be a more enjoyable film.

I think Battle Royale fans will probably want to stop with the comparisons now that it seems Catching Fire is a much better film than Battle Royale 2, lol.

I'd hope they wouldn't compare anything from The Hunger Games to Battle Royale or vice versa, since BR2 isn't a part of the original story. Hell, the book is tons better than the movie ever was. Most of the comparisons I've made between the two comes from the book anyway. One was made specifically for young adults while the other was not.

It's not to say that The Hunger Games ripped Battle Royale's story, it's that the premise for both are very similar in nature, especially

Spoiler

in terms over themes of oppressive government control, the true nature of humans, and the use of an alternate history to tell a story.

 

[Matt_]

Any word on when the second batch of reviews is coming?
Its been sitting at 95% on RT for a couple days now but reviews seem to have stopped coming in