Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • December 4, 2013 ‘Catching Fire’ sequel surpasses the original by Dennis Seuling “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” opens a year after the first installment. It is the eve of the 75th Annual Hunger Games. The first time around, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) survived her ordeal in which rep- resentatives of each district in the dystopian nation of Panem were pitted in a hunt-to-the death “game.” The event is the futuristic equivalent of the Super Bowl, World Series, and Olympics rolled into one extravagant spectacle. The purpose of the Hunger Games is to keep an oppressed populace both in fear and entertained. Since her win, Katniss has become a dangerous symbol of hope, and this proves a threat to President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The leadership concocts a special edition of the Games ostensibly to commemorate the third quarter anniversary of the Games -- the Quar- ter Quell -- pitting the victors of previous Games against one another in the hope Katniss will be eliminated. The early section of the movie is slow going until the Games begin and all forms of danger are thrown at the participants to enhance the excitement and improve the possibility of Katniss’ early demise. Katniss is the unlikeliest of warriors. She never misses when she fires her arrows at breathtaking speed, yet is haunted by what she went through the first time. This young woman cares more about her family, her co-Games participant, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), and her boy-next-door sometime love Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, and Jennifer Lawrence in ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.’ interest, Gale (Liam Hemsworth), than about offing the competition. Lawrence turns in a thoughtful performance as the conscience-driven Katniss, who, in “Catching Fire,” is learning about the dirty, dark side of politics and selling an image at the expense of her own suffering people. Had Katniss simply accepted the acclaim and gone along with its conditions, she would have had a privi- leged life. However, her concern for the greater good emerges and casts her into a whirlwind of danger. There is a quiet resolve in Lawrence’s performance that con- veys strength of character as Katniss tries to understand the forces facing her. She comes to recognize herself as her downtrodden people see her: a symbol of hope. Hutcherson’s Peeta has matured and learned about pleasing a crowd. He has dropped wide-eyed innocence and accepted his role as hero trotted from one district to another, a loyal spokesperson for the Games. When the going gets rough during the Games, Peeta handles him- self well and shows a new fearlessness as he fights both to survive and to protect Katniss. The love triangle is still an ongoing undercurrent to the action, but fortunately, director Francis Lawrence doesn’t dwell on it. A couple of scenes illustrate Kat- niss’ divided affection for Peeta and Gale, but the movie quickly moves on to the action. Elizabeth Banks is back as Effie Trinket, the publi- cist/promoter who accompanies Katniss and Peeta on the Victory Tour. Her wonderfully over-the-top, even bizarre, outfits designed by Trish Summerville display a real sense of humor in their Ziegfeld-inspired styling by way of Ru Paul. Banks has considerably more screen time here than in the first film, and she etches an actual characterization rather than serving as a mere visual joke. Stanley Tucci returns as Caesar Flickerman, host and moderator of the Games, as unctuous and smarmy as ever with his six-inch pompadour and George Hamilton- style facial bronze. In addition, Woody Harrelson makes his second appearance as Haymitch Abernathy, former Games winner and hard-drinking coach. New characters include Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who works closely with President Snow in running the Games, and Finnick Odair (Sam Clafin) and Johanna Mason (Jena Malone), two quirky co-participants in the Quarter Quell. For a tale centered on planned mass execution, the movie is surprisingly devoid of excess blood and gore, with kills gingerly shown as the camera catches just enough to register what has happened before turning away. This restraint was necessary to earn the film its desired PG-13 rating. The current movie is the cinematic adaptation of the second novel in the trilogy. (The third novel will be broken into two films.) Benefiting from an exciting and affecting story with a couple of cliffhangers at the end, excellent performances, and an effective director, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is even better than the first movie in the series.