The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) - A repetitive transition between the first instalment and the closing chapter in two parts - 6/10 (26/11/13)

Here it is: "1984" features "Battle Royale" Part II - the follow-up nobody really needed.

On a more serious note, I must though admit that I enjoyed the first movie. It wasn't original but the settings were great, the camera and light work flawless, the costumes and effects stunning and the different characters during the battle competition were somewhat intriguing and had some depth as well.

This time, the movie bores us with an overlong introduction. Instead of developing the main characters, we just get exposed to things we had already known or seen before in the first movie. This is basically just a waste of precious time as neither the characters nor the story gets any new elements. 

The reason why the radical autocracy sets off a special edition of the Hunger Games is completely ridiculous but I'm aware of the fact that this part is based on the books, so the movie makers are not to blame. Let's just say that the stories of the first and the second movie are too similar to make the second part stand out anyhow.

It's simply not impressive anymore to see the colourful characters, clothes and make-up because we have been there before. The new characters that are taking part in the new Hunger Games aren't as interesting as in the first part and once some characters finally start to act in suspicious way, the whole movie is already over and any development suddenly aborted. Some characters seemed to be interesting such as the brutal young woman with the strange teeth but they almost have no screening time at all. Once again, I call this a waste of time and potential.

Why does this movie still get a passable rating? The acting is of a good average quality. The decorations, effects and settings are similar to the first movie but still on a high quality. Some adrenaline driven scenes during the Hunger Games will get you on the edge of your seats. The open ending is interesting enough to make you want to see more and watch the next two instalments of the series (of course, they needed to make two more movies out of it to make more money just as the last two Harry Potter movies). So, there still are a lot of positive elements and the great images and sounds make it worth to watch it in your local cinema.

On the other side, this film is not much more than "1984" meets "Battle Royale" for the "Twilight" generation. I must admit that I'm a big fan of dystopian movies and novels and that's why I'm also enjoying the "Hunger Games". If you're not just following a trend, a little bit more mature and honestly enjoying this franchise, you should definitely watch classics such as "Fahrenheit 451", "A Clockwork Orange", "Soylent Green", "Rollerball", "Equilibrium", "Renaissance" and so on and compare them to the "Hunger Games". If you think any of these movies is weaker than this new output, let's say you have a very curious opinion.