The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Director: Francis Lawrence
Year Released: 2013
Rating: 2.0

Functional if not exactly enthralling 'dark' follow-up to the first Hunger Games goes through some plot recap, some minor politicking (President Snow, played by Donald Sutherland, clearly hates the people), some 'character development' (love blossoming between Katniss and Peeta ... no way!) and eventually gets to a new Hunger Games bout (that ends quickly). If there's any kind of heart and soul to this it's due to the efforts of Jennifer Lawrence, who takes the whole production on her shoulders (along with that quiver of arrows), giving a damn amidst the CGI and predictability. Purely diversionary as 'entertainment' (if the concept of killing humans for sport can ever be entertainment) ... and it gives the likes of Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone and Stanley Tucci the chance to ham it up.