The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

To borrow a catchphrase from the film, the odds are ever in the favor of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, at least from a box-office perspective.

Otherwise, it’s a trickier proposition for this big-budget sequel that functions as the middle leg in a fantasy-adventure trilogy based on the series of novels by Suzanne Collins.

Although this installment doesn’t match the freshness of its predecessor, it offers depth to its characters and themes that supplement its considerable visual flair.

The story picks up after the previous edition of the Hunger Games, when underdog survivors Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) begin a victory tour throughout the districts of Panem at the request of the government, which aims to turn them into puppets and romantic folk heroes. Instead, their appearances spark stronger feelings of class rebellion among their poor and working-class compatriots in the post-apocalyptic kingdom.

In response, the manipulative and malevolent President Snow (Donald Sutherland) increases the level of fear and paranoia from the Capitol by hiring a new strategist (Philip Seymour Hoffman) for the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games, known as the Quarter Quell, which he turns into an all-star game of sorts. Snow reneges on an earlier agreement by forcing Katniss and Peeta to compete again, along with former winners from each of the other 11 districts, in a new game with only one winner left standing.

Lawrence continues to mold Katniss into a convincing strong-willed heroine forced into maturity beyond her years, and not just for her prowess and cunning as an archer.

There’s plenty of spectacle in the approach of director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend), yet he doesn’t sacrifice some of the moral complexities in the narrative that distinguish the material. It explores provocative issues including fame and celebrity, socioeconomic class distinctions, notions of heroism, and government oppression.

Some of the action sequences are thrilling, especially in the climactic game itself, which blends in seamless special effects along with some strategic surprises, even when the structure — in some ways intentionally — resembles that of a certain reality television show.

The characters and the setting are more familiar compared to the first film. Yet there are enough twists to make this follow-up worthwhile, even for fans of the source material who know what the outcome will be. Or more specifically, how it will set up the real finale that’s yet to come.

Rated PG-13, 146 minutes.