“Catching Fire” is of course the second book—and movie— in the “Hunger Games” series. Coming from someone who has never read the books, it was thrilling and exciting. There was so much emotion and action packed into two-and-a-half hours that it felt like the movie flew by in an hour. I was not looking for comparisons to the book while I was watching, so everything seemed to flow well. It connected fluently to create an exciting plot, though it seemed to lack balance.

The movie begins as Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and Peeta, played by Josh Hutcherson, get ready to embark on a victory tour. Everyone believes they’re in love, just as they were during the actual Games. Everyone, that is, except President Snow. The victory tour portrays Katniss as a symbol of defiance to the capitol, which leads President Snow to decide that she must be disposed of. To do so without causing uproar from the capitol and an all-out revolution, he sends her back to the Hunger Games with other former winners, using the cover of it being the third quell, or 75th anniversary of the dispelling of revolution.

The unique story is devised from the “Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The combination of her stories and the incredible special effects offers an emotional and intense feature. The balance between emotional and physical pain leave the emotional amplitude dial turned to eleven.

The high level of intensity is helped by the emotional acting talents of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson. Lawrence is known for her strong emotional performances in films such as “Silver Linings Playbook.” Her ability to emote distress and love in that movie earned her an Oscar. Hutcherson is known for emotional and dramatic roles from films like “Bridge to Terabithia.” Harrelson is known for his ability to transverse genres and maintain credibility. Other than the Hunger Games, his recent work includes a loner magician in “Now You See Me.”

The movie is intense right up to the last second, with a twist in the last five minutes as Katniss destroys the Hunger Games arena and a cliffhanger at the end as we find out District 12 no longer exists. I was left wanting to immediately jump into Mockingjay, but unfortunately, that is not an option. On the bright side, it comes out on Thursday, Nov. 20. I’m ready to find out what happens next, but I’m not going to spoil it by reading the book.

While I was not as confused with the plot of the series as I was in the first movie, I still felt like “Catching Fire” was a step behind. Maybe it was because it felt like it went by so quickly, or it could be that there was not as much combat as the first, when there was more of a focus on the Games themselves. While the point of “Catching Fire” is to showcase the beginning of revolution, it puts too much focus on the people in the districts responding to Katniss’ defiance. We only get a taste of the revolution on the video monitors of security guards.

There was a lack of balance between showing the beginning of the revolution along with the actual Hunger Games. The movie producers should have extended the movie to fit more detail that would allow us to think about the messages being given about societal values concerning governmental power.

It feels like the series has reached the turning point of pure entertainment value and making money, rather than keeping true to the story. This is especially true as “Mockingjay” is being split into two parts unnecessarily. While I have not read the books, I do know that they are not complex or long enough to split the final book into two parts.

“Catching Fire” was interesting and exciting, but could have been so much more.

3.5/5