The Hunger Games Catching Fire Blu-Ray Review (Highly Recommended)
I’m often reminded of those who view “The Hunger Games” as another in a series of girl-power literature with hunky boyfriends, and a girl who can overcome all odds. That simplistic view really loses what makes the Hunger Games work. The Hunger Games, both as a book and as films, isn’t about a future Romeo and Juliet. It’s not a love story. In almost every way, it is an open enactment of the realities of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Feeling unsafe, in a community desperate for food, Katniss can’t have a love interest – her love interests are fake, pretend, only to accomplish her first need: survival. People who look to Katniss, in both the books and the films, manages to put this openly clear to other characters, specifically in Catching Fire to Gale (Liam Hemsworth), who she points out she can’t love that way because she can’t get that far ahead of her need to survive. 
In lesser movies, this would be a plot point “oh, she’ll find her way back to someone she loves” or “maybe she will love Peeta”. But in the end, the film stays on point with the book with a character who deals with a mental state that battles with the reality that her survival is the only thing that matters and her cold assessments within the arena. 
This view of the future is dark, dreary, gutty and bold for a film aimed primarily at a teen audience. But as the film proceeds it doesn’t shirk from its duties of making Katniss a troubled killer in an environment where it is forced on her. It doesn’t change characters, even characters you want to like from witnessing horrible things and moving on.I had initial reservations that as this film came to the screen the direction would be to play down more of the unsavory content, from death on their tour to Katniss that was free to tell Peeta and Gale that the one she cared about was her, her and her family. But the film spared nothing that would change the feeling of the book, and Lawrence sold her character not as a troubled but in love young girl, but from a girl who has a troubled psychiatric state that wishes for death and simply hopes for the survival of her family by halfway in.
Catching Fire was a film that was high on my list of great films last year, and the direction by Francis Lawrence nails the heart of this book. Moving between large CGI set pieces to unbelievable real world effects, the direction provides a world that is far better fleshed out and realized then the first film with actors who seem much more confident in their roles.Catching Fire is simply a great film – not a good kid film – it is a great Science Fiction film that tells a story that resonates beyond kids and presents a lot of difficult ethical choices.
Not only is the experience solid, the encode does this film justice. Delivered in AVC/MPEG4 with an AWBR of 26, and a peak BR of 37.1Mbps, the Catching Fire is the kind of film that sucks you right in on your home screen. Projected out in my theater, I found that the experience preserved the theater. The bright nature of outdoor scenes to the dark and cramped feeling as the capital comes for Katniss puts this as a disc that will have a great deal of re-watchability. There are no noticeable errors no errors that I found to pull me out, just an encode that tells you this is what HD should be.
The idea of presenting dystopian future as the setting or a scifi epic is not a new one. Numerous films, books, comics and shorts have dealt with the subject matter. It’s hard to know whether that’s because we are attracted to these kind of tales or because the setting allows for such rich characters. Being a fan of the book series, I eagerly awaited the Hunger Games films. The First film, while solid, seemed to make me think too much about elements that were missing from the screen, things I had loved in the book. I sat in the theater watching “The Hunger Games” and I was uncertain if they were going to pull it off, all the way until Jennifer Lawrence delivered the big emotional moment from the book during Rue’s death. Her portrayal of that scene nailed it for me. I was able to forgive the things in the film I was unsure of because the core of the book was retained, and the actress who delivered it nailed her performance.
Studio: Lionsgate
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1, 2.40:1
Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 2 Hr. 26 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, UltraViolet
Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer), DVD-9 (dual layer)
Region:
Release Date: 03/07/2014
MSRP: $39.99
The Production Rating: 5/5
I’m often reminded of those who view “The Hunger Games” as another in a series of girl-power literature with hunky boyfriends, and a girl who can overcome all odds. That simplistic view really loses what makes the Hunger Games work. The Hunger Games, both as a book and as films, isn’t about a future Romeo and Juliet. It’s not a love story. In almost every way, it is an open enactment of the realities of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Feeling unsafe, in a community desperate for food, Katniss can’t have a love interest – her love interests are fake, pretend, only to accomplish her first need: survival. People who look to Katniss, in both the books and the films, manages to put this openly clear to other characters, specifically in Catching Fire to Gale (Liam Hemsworth), who she points out she can’t love that way because she can’t get that far ahead of her need to survive. In lesser movies, this would be a plot point “oh, she’ll find her way back to someone she loves” or “maybe she will love Peeta”. But in the end, the film stays on point with the book with a character who deals with a mental state that battles with the reality that her survival is the only thing that matters and her cold assessments within the arena. This view of the future is dark, dreary, gutty and bold for a film aimed primarily at a teen audience. But as the film proceeds it doesn’t shirk from its duties of making Katniss a troubled killer in an environment where it is forced on her. It doesn’t change characters, even characters you want to like from witnessing horrible things and moving on.I had initial reservations that as this film came to the screen the direction would be to play down more of the unsavory content, from death on their tour to Katniss that was free to tell Peeta and Gale that the one she cared about was her, her and her family. But the film spared nothing that would change the feeling of the book, and Lawrence sold her character not as a troubled but in love young girl, but from a girl who has a troubled psychiatric state that wishes for death and simply hopes for the survival of her family by halfway in.Catching Fire was a film that was high on my list of great films last year, and the direction by Francis Lawrence nails the heart of this book. Moving between large CGI set pieces to unbelievable real world effects, the direction provides a world that is far better fleshed out and realized then the first film with actors who seem much more confident in their roles.Catching Fire is simply a great film – not a good kid film – it is a great Science Fiction film that tells a story that resonates beyond kids and presents a lot of difficult ethical choices.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
Not only is the experience solid, the encode does this film justice. Delivered in AVC/MPEG4 with an AWBR of 26, and a peak BR of 37.1Mbps, the Catching Fire is the kind of film that sucks you right in on your home screen. Projected out in my theater, I found that the experience preserved the theater. The bright nature of outdoor scenes to the dark and cramped feeling as the capital comes for Katniss puts this as a disc that will have a great deal of re-watchability. There are no noticeable errors no errors that I found to pull me out, just an encode that tells you this is what HD should be.
Audio Rating: 5/5
Special Features Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
Reviewed By: MattCR
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