One teenage girl and her bow and arrow become a mighty symbol for revolution in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, as Hollywood’s reigning young adult franchise goes deeper and darker to explore the impact of violence on a community.
Catching Fire, will be out in theaters on November 22, is based on the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy by author Suzanne Collins, set in the dystopian futuristic society of Panem, where the government forces 24 children to annually fight to the death in a live televised event.
In the new film, heroine Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and her partner Peeta Mellark have returned victorious from the Hunger Games, viewed by the public as star-crossed young lovers who finally get their happy ending.
But the much harsher reality sees both dealing with residual trauma from the brutality they suffered and were forced to inflict in the first games.
As the annual Hunger Games once again comes around, Katniss and Peeta find themselves back in the arena, their worst nightmare. But this time, their heroic actions from the first games have set off a underground movement for revolution.
“This is the next step of Katniss’ heroism and the next part of her journey to finding out who is she really going to be,” said Lawrence, one of Hollywood’s hottest stars after winning the Oscar for best actress this year.
While The Hunger Games was about Katniss’ sole purpose to fight for her own survival armed with her bow and arrow, in Catching Fire, she finds herself unknowingly become a fighter and beacon for a much bigger cause, something that doesn’t escape the notice of Panem’s dictatorial President Snow.
As Peeta and Katniss prepare once again to enter the Hunger Games, they find a growing network rally around them.
As war and revolution take over in Catching Fire, veteran actor Donald Sutherland, who plays the ruthless and manipulative President Snow, hopes the film’s message that society needs to change spreads, especially to its younger audience.