In 2012, the movie “The Hunger Games” ended with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) arriving in District 12, their home, after winning the 74th annual Hunger Games competition.

“Catching Fire” wastes no time, starting the movie with Everdeen back in the forest of District 12 alongside friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth).

Sparks fly in these historic movies that are based on the The “Hunger Games” series written by Suzanne Collins, which separate 12 districts from the capital.

The characters in “Catching Fire” do an impressive job of staying true to the personalities in the book throughout the entire movie. Exciting new characters are shown to “The Hunger Games” fan base like Finnick (Sam Claflin) and Johanna Mason (Jena Malone).

Going into the movie, a viewer could be scared that the second movie will not live up to the expectations given from the book.

I’m pleased to say that there is no need to worry.

You will be left on the edge of your seat not noticing that the movie is two and a half hours.

If you have not seen or read the first “Hunger Games,” you may find yourself confused in parts of the movie, but I wouldn’t suggest letting that stop you from seeing this captivating film.

The movie is full of emotion with tear-jerking scenes which may require you to bring a pack of tissues to the showing if you cry easily.

The beginning of the movie focused more on emotional scenes, while towards the end, action developed while Everdeen and Mellark were found back in the arena.

“Catching Fire” sets the bar high for what action movies should live up to. While focusing on making the audience feel every emotion imaginable, the film also made sure to have many camera angles in order to captivate the audience every way possible.

When complementing the artsy side of the movie, I can’t  forget to mention how breathtaking the makeup and fashion was for each character. The production of this movie made it obvious that they spent every waking hour working in order to make this film memorable.

There will be times during the movie that you will just sit there wondering how they were able to accomplish all these tasks in just one movie, while staying true to the book.

I recommend going to see this movie no matter if you are a girl or a boy because it combines a complicated love story and an intense action movie into one. This is a sequel that does not fail to impress.

Rating 4/5