The Hunger Games: Catching Fire [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray] [2013]

Love this hunger games sequel; so far is the best. The plot is very good and the characters are great.I can't wait to see the next film "The Mocking Jay".

I wanted the 4k version of this, but didn’t find it so I settled on the Blue Ray instead, and I found the quality of the playback to be excellent. The sound on my surround sound system was excellent. The movie itself was good. I’d give it a 8/10.

Excellent. Great film. One of the best ever made!!

Nothing could have prepared me for Catching Fire; it was, quite simply, an astonishment on every level. It is so much more than just an action movie; it is also a thought-provoking look at hope, revolution, rebellion, and the importance of government. It's themes encompass grand ideas and touchy subjects with utter fearlessness. Let us examine what sets The Hunger Games: Catching Fire a cut above the rest: 1. CAST: Surrounding the amazing Jennifer Lawrence (who has matured into a riveting young actress) is a supporting cast to die for. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth give good roles, but it is the incomparable Donald Sutherland, who oozes quiet menace from every pore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who chews the scenery with a subtle performance, and the amazing Jeffrey Wright who truly astonish. Look also for Jena Malone as Johanna Mason in a brilliant, scene-stealing performance of incredible charisma. 2. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Filled with gorgeous and eye-catching shots, Joe Willems's cinematography fills Panem with striking, practical, gritty, but never dour visuals. From the browns and greys of District 12 to the lush, green, cramped hell of the arena, Catching Fire is one of the best photographed films of the year. 3. COSTUMES AND SET DESIGN: Catching Fire offers, courtesy of small genius Trish Summerville, some of the most luscious, gorgeous, and eye-catching dresses this side of Lord of the Rings. Look for the marked contrast between the grit and the ash of District 12 with the gleam and color of the Capitol. THG's realistic set design and costuming brings a whole new field of "real" to the game. 4. ACTION: The perfect blend of psychological build-up and riveting action, the last hour of Catching Fire is an absolute powerhouse of action. Prepare to be glued to the edge of your seat as poisonous fog, lightning, monkeys, psychological torture, and floods beset our heroes. The stakes are raised, and the action is upped, but GONE is the shaky-cam that plagued the first film. Catching Fire has matured in every way. 5. THEMES: This is what astonished me the most; the subtle, devious, brilliantly convoluted game of cat-and-mouse ("moves and counter moves") played by President Snow, Plutarch Heavensbee, and Katniss Everdeen over the course of the film. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a thought-provoking and stimulating look at fascism, revolution, revolt, and the dangerous side effects of hope. Bravo for the decision to insert such smart material into a film of this calibre. On the whole, the cons of Catching Fire are few, and it's pros are many. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the blockbuster event of the year. 5 tributes out of 5.

This is the warning offered to Katniss Everdeen by a frostily whiskered President Snow early in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the sequel to the 2012 franchise opener. But it works pretty well, too, as a critique of the first film and a promise that this one will be better. Which it is: better directed, better scripted, better cast. Perhaps most important, Catching Fire does a more faithful job of capturing the grim vision of Suzanne Collins’s source novels than its rather tepid predecessor. This movie feels hungry. To recap: Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is a resident of District 12, an impoverished mining province held in thrall by a remote and tyrannical Capitol. Every year, in punishment for a past rebellion, the Capitol requires all 12 districts under its rule to supply two teenage “tributes”—one girl and one boy—to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised, to-the-death tournament with only one survivor. In the previous movie, Katniss was selected to represent District 12 along with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), a sweet young baker who also happened to be in love with her. Pretending to love him back, Katniss succeeded in engineering a scenario whereby both she and Peeta were allowed to survive the Games.

I picked this up the week Best Buy was having the special price of $25 for both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire steel book editions. I enjoy both of these movies, so I would have paid full price, but $25 for both was an insanely good price. On top of that, both movies came with $8 off digital codes to go see Divergent via Fandango which I am planning on seeing, so really I got both movies for $9. I couldn't have asked for more when it came to the price. Catching Fire got all sorts of mixed reviews online, but from someone who read the book I think Lionsgate did a great job of adapting the book into a movie. It was exciting and flowed well, and followed the book in almost every aspect, give or take a few points. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. In my opinion, it was even a little better than the first, so kudos to the actors and team for pulling off a great sequel. In all, I would highly recommend this product. On top of the great price and movie, the collectible steel book and extras are also a nice touch. If you have a Blu-Ray capable device, get on this pronto!

Wow. Just, wow. You will not be disappointed. The director, Francis Lawrence, did a fantastic job expanding the world of Panem while keeping true to the tone set by the first movie. The first half of the movie, the victory tour and events leading up to the Quarter Quell, may feel a little bit rushed, but all the important details are there. For book fans, there are a few minor details left out, but the amount of content taken directly from the book is amazing. Much of the dialogue (although not all) is taken straight from the book, word-for-word. If you like a thrilling adventure fraught with unexpected surprises, humorous exchanges, and scenes that move you, go see this movie. It is so much more than just an action movie; it is also a thought-provoking look at hope, revolution, rebellion, and the importance of government. It's themes encompass grand ideas and touchy subjects with utter fearlessness.

"Catching Fire" is to "the Hunger Games" what "the Empire Strikes Back" was to "Star Wars" — in other words, the sequel that's even better than the blockbuster original. Anchored by the awesomely talented Jennifer Lawrence and featuring a wonderful ensemble cast including Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz and Donald Sutherland, the movie features wonderful acting, spectacular sets, a well-paced story, and a cliffhanger ending (faithful to the book). My only gripe is that the high definition film sometimes reveals the tricks of the special effects department (particularly obvious is the scene at the President's Party, where's it obvious that the stars were digitally "dropped in" to the scene filmed with all the extras. But to me it's a minor gripe, the movie still deserves a full five stars. The steel box packaging is very nice but not in itself particularly essential.