I feel like movie adaptations of young adult novels (as opposed to adult novels) have a lot of baggage to carry, doubly so if the movie and novel are SFF. Take this review of The Book Thief film adaptation (but do brace yourself before reading it, as it’s irritating on multiple levels).

What I get from that review and others of its ilk is that a young adult film adaptation not only has to be a good movie for teens, it also has to be a good movie for adults, which is, of course, better. Touching on adolescent emotions and interests is beneath adults, really – no matter that all adults were at one point adolescents themselves (except, perhaps, for Godfrey Cheshire?). I would even go so far as to say that a young adult film adaptation would be lauded if it appealed to adults at the expense of its appeal to teens. It’s the same sort of thing I see when SFF films (for any age group) are reviewed: the movie must appeal to non-SFF fans if it’s to be taken seriously, if it’s to be called truly good.

All of this intro is to say that snooty, stick-up-their-you-know-whats reviewers shouldn’t have a problem with Catching Fire. It’s a very good movie in its own right. It will most certainly satisfy teen viewers. It will also appeal to adults, which doesn’t necessarily make it better, but it certainly makes it more lucrative.

Like the book, this film has a much slower burn than The Hunger Games. I’d say that a good half – or perhaps more – is occupied with events prior to the Quarter Quell. I don’t mean to say it’s boring; it’s far from that. In fact, these sections before the more overt violence in the arena are just as horrifying – but in a different way. When Katniss makes a fatal mistake during her performance in the Victory Tour, and someone dies as a result, it all becomes clear: even the tiniest of wrong moves has deadly effects. This is something the book and the movie both do very well.

Once the Quarter Quell actually begins, the tension ratchets up 200%. As a viewer who knew precisely what would happen and when, I still found myself breathless at several points, shouting in my head to “run faster!” or “look behind you!” I was disappointed by one instance of a “jack-in-the-box scare,” which is a cheap ploy and never executed well, but aside from that, the arena is just as action-packed and horrifying as it should be.

Collins’ killer story (pun intended, so sorry) is buoyed by excellent acting on almost all fronts. Jennifer Lawrence is amazing, as I knew she would be. I was surprised to learn after watching the film that people doubted Sam Claflin as Finnick; he was terrific, with a 1000-watt grin that fits precisely my recollection of the character. (In fact, I cared a bit more about him in the movie than the book!) Woody Harrelson as Haymitch is hilarious but also capable of gravity; Elizabeth Banks as Effie shows us that she’s more than sparkly hair in this installment as well. Lenny Kravitz (Cinna), Donald Sutherland (President Snow), Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman), and Jena Malone (Johanna Mason) are all excellent too. They’re all memorable, they all make an impact, and they all manage to be more than one-note characters. 

The two main boys (Gale and Peeta) are still merely OK. Since Liam Hemsworth (Gale) is given more to do than just mope in the field, he fares a little better in this installment, but I still cringed every time he called Katniss “catnip.” And I know there are Peeta fans out there, but I still find his character pretty bland, and Josh Hutcherson didn’t do anything to change that opinion. (This does change in the third book, when Peeta becomes very interesting indeed, thanks to some Capitol torture. Yes, I realize how heartless that sentence makes me sound.)

I wasn’t bothered by anything that was in the book but didn’t make it into the movie, though I’m sure some others will be (perhaps the fact that there is no Bonnie and Twill will be most upsetting, but who knows). Unlike some other readers, I don’t have all details committed to memory, so chances are I don’t even remember something that may upset someone else. 

I did take note of a couple of things that the filmmakers added which I really liked. The first is a lot of dialogue between Plutarch Heavensbee (portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman) and President Snow (and these conversations made me doubt my recollection of Heavensbee’s true goals, Hoffman is so good at his manipulation of Snow – and the audience). Since the book is told from Katniss’ point of view, these type of scenes aren’t possible there. This is just one example of how certain media forces a different kind of storytelling – and that’s a good thing. Movies are not books. We don’t get as much insight into Katniss’ head in the movie, but we do get these juicy scenes between characters that are not Katniss. It adds a layer of richness to the story that I love. It also enhances the world-building immensely, something I found lacking at times in the books.

Another addition is President Snow’s young granddaughter. She’s a very clever device, seen in a few brief conversations with her grandfather, usually talking about what a fan she is of Katniss. It brings home to President Snow – quite literally – just what Katniss has been doing to Panem. And of course Donald Sutherland is remarkable, allowing the audience to both laugh at him and be horrified at what it all means.

As with the first movie, Catching Fire’s visuals are very slick. The special effects make everything look authentic. This sort of thing is often seen as tangential by some reviewers, but it’s so essential in a movie like this. The Capitol truly is an incredible sight. The districts are equally incredible, but for very different reasons. The excellent visual effects create the buy-in necessary for the audience to be fully invested in the story.

I was happy to see that there was much less shaky cam during the action scenes. There’s not a lot of blood, though the camera does focus on some other gruesome aspects (I had to turn my head away during one scene). As the shaky cam was my primary issue with the first film, I’d say I enjoyed this one a little more. In fact, when it ended, I turned to my boyfriend and told him I wanted to see it again.