188 - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

    Katniss and Peeta go on tour for some reason, which stirs up the oppressed people.  They get roped into a big event for the 75th annual Hunger Games, which results in them being put back in the arena with a bunch of past victors.
    I came out of this movie feeling much more conflicted.  The first chunk of the story has the couple going on tour, inadvertently stirring up dissent.  The story started to feel a little more complicated, placing the characters and their oppressors in a situation where neither would be able to gain a clear advantage.  Then the bad guys make their move and… decide to repeat the first movie.
    As a sequel, there’s an effort to push everything to an extreme.  The other kids in the tournament are prior winners, meaning that they’re all driven, tough, and generally, willing to kill.  The game designer is a bit more ruthless, using poison fog (?!) aggressive apes, and a lack of fresh water as a means of making a more punishing game.  These seem like things that should make for a more exciting movie, but they aren’t.
    The problem is that they removed the central conflict that made the original more interesting.  How do you win the games while being hunted, and still remain a hero?
    The story ends on a cliffhanger, but it isn’t especially interesting.

    There’s a larger problem with this story, and it becomes clearer the longer I’m exposed to it.  The premise simply doesn’t make sense.  This isn’t an effective means of the government showing its might.  This wouldn’t prevent the districts from rebelling.  For all the discussion of symbolism, it ignores that this kind of event would encourage revolution, not prevent it.