[Movie Review] The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Waiting is normal for a fan. Be it waiting for a new book from a favorite author, a new album from a favorite artist, a new season of a favorite show, the next installment of a movie series... once a person brand herself as a fan, it goes without saying that she should have the patience to wait for what comes next.

It is never easy. Especially if what you're waiting for is a follow-up movie adaptation of a book trilogy you've read a long time ago. It's like torture.

But waiting comes with a reward. The feeling of finally being able to check a movie off your list is strangely gratifying. What more if the movie is not just good, but better than you think it would be. That everything you imagined while reading the book is faithfully translated and the movie still has a lot to offer. That's what happen with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It's awesome! It's definitely worth the wait!

Catching Fire is the second installment of The Hunger Games series. Being the second movie in the frachise, people are curious if it can measure up to the epicness of the first film. The dystopian country of Panem and the brutal game were already introduced last year, the challenge now is how to properly tell the rest of the plot that was brilliantly written by Suzanne Collins in her book trilogy.

From start to finish, the scenes that unfold right before my eyes were straight from the book. Right from the moment when Katniss went hunting with Gale and she realized that she would never be the same again, that the horror she went through would forever haunt her, up to the hovercraft scene where they told her that they were planning to save her all along and the way she become hysterical when she found out that they left Peeta behind. Jennifer Lawrence portrayed it all with flying colors. Then there's Peeta. Peeta who is brilliantly portrayed by Josh Hutcherson. The pained look in his eyes when he confronted Katniss of their hoax of a relationship. Dude, it killed me. I've said this before and I'd say this again. They really made the right choice of actors for the lead roles.

The highlight of the movie goes to the spectacle that were Katniss' dresses. I remember I nudged my sister into focus so she won't miss a thing during the chariot ride and the interview. And seeing how much those scenes gained praised everywhere on the internet, I knew right there and then, the film was success.

The game is what I've been anticipating the most and I wished we spent more time in it. It could have been explored more but I knew the material they had to put all together in a limited time so I made peace with that little mishap there. At the very least they showed the important points in the game.

But what I really like the best in Catching Fire is the  unexpected tears I shed while watching it. I never really thought that the movie would move me even a bit. In a dystopian setting I rarely get emotional, I'm more interested into how the protagonists battle their way into victory but with just one look at Rue's family while Peeta and Katniss were on District 11 I know I was a goner.

I can go on writing about how the movie was awesome and I can do that but, really, I'm just glad that Catching Fire turned out to be what I imagined it to be.

See you next year tributes!