Director Francis Lawrence does not commit many of his predecessor’s sins (though he too has an unrestrained fondness for close-ups), making stronger directorial choices, and he is helped by a significantly higher budget, raised from the first film’s $80 million to $140 million. Catching Fire is shot with more patience and takes in a wider scope, and the writing has also greatly improved. One of the ways that The Hunger Games dropped the ball was in externalizing the internal dialogues and decisions of its characters, and Lawrence spends some time at Catching Fire’s start playing emotional catch-up. The trap of falsified romance that Katniss and Peeta have found themselves in is highly focused on throughout the film, as are Katniss’ increasingly cloudy feelings towards her two love interests, her co-champion Peeta, and childhood friend Gale. More importantly, her mixed feelings about her own place in the world, as both symbol and celebrity, are brought to the fore.
Are you still smarting from director Patty Jenkins’ ousting from Thor 2? Well, don’t hold your breath, because unless Lionsgate is hiding some female directors under their hat as their trump card for the rest of the Hunger Games franchise, that sinking feeling of despair that women never get to direct major franchise films isn’t going away any time soon! But we here at the Mary Sue can at least help dull the pain by reminding you that if you’re looking for talented female filmmakers, the odds actually are in your favor.