“A mockingjay is a creature the Capitol never intended to exist.” The capital also never expected riots that would sweep the nation of Panem and complete defiance of all capital rules. The thought of rebellion amongst even the weakest districts never crossed their minds. Who knew, Katniss Everdeen, the timid volunteer from district twelve, would serve as a symbol of rebellion due to her defiance in the 74th annual Hunger Games.

The second movie of “The Hunger Games” trilogy, “Catching Fire”, will be hitting theaters on November 22nd at midnight. I got the chance to see the movie before it was released and was completely blown away by the acting, the extravagant costumes, and the special effects used throughout the film. In comparison to the first movie Katniss and Peeta’s mentor, Haymitch, was right, “The last games was child’s play”.

The director of the first movie, Gary Ross, was offered the job of directing the second movie but later declined the offer. Finally, Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer Lawrence who plays Katniss Everdeen) accepted the job and began filming over a year and a half ago. The amount of graphics and planning that went into the creation of this film must have been astounding, but the two year wait was definitely worth it.

The entire movie had me on the edge of my seat, almost as though I was on the journey back into the dreaded games with the star crossed lovers Katniss and Peeta. Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark) made their characters come to life even more in the sequel, making the audience connect with them and actually feel their pain in addition to their struggle to survive.

The movie’s script is almost identical to the quotes in the book. Although no movie will ever be exact to its book,”Catching Fire” came pretty close to it. For example, the head game maker,  Plutarch Heavensbee, never shows Katniss his mockingjay clock at the giant victors party at the capital. Instead, Katniss figures out the clock scheme of the arena by herself without putting two and two together. I personally thought that was a vital part to include but without it, the film still flowed nicely.

I do not want to say anymore because this movie is definitely worth a trip to your local movie theater. I do advise that you read the book before seeing the movie, because there are some crucial elements included in the book in order to better understand the movie. Get ready to be blown away…literally (you’ll see what I mean).