The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Lionsgate | Release Date: November 22, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Critic Reviews
Positive:
44
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
HitfixDrew McWeenyNov 20, 2015
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire more than makes the case for this as a franchise that's going to get better as it goes, and I am genuinely excited to see how they wrap it up. Read full review
91
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 19, 2013
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is movie escapism made with intelligence, and that doesn't come around often enough. As I sensed this movie ending I wished it wouldn't, and when it did I wanted the next one now. Take that, Bilbo. Read full review
91
The PlaylistTodd GilchristNov 12, 2013
Catching Fire is a monumental achievement, a massively entertaining crowd-pleaser that is thought-provoking and personally inspiring in all of the ways that it aspires to be. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 21, 2013
Catching Fire is exceptional entertainment, a spectacle with a good mind and a pounding heart. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeNov 12, 2013
[Francis] Lawrence and his team have calibrated the entire experience for maximum engagement. And while its pleasures can’t touch the thrill of seeing the Death Star destroyed — not yet, at least — the film runs circles around George Lucas’ ability to weave complex political ideas into the very fabric of B-movie excitement. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Geoff PevereNov 21, 2013
The result is not only a dramatic improvement over what was already an unusually smart and satisfying pop-cultural parable of insurgent 99-per-cent rebellion, but a very likely candidate for the all-time-great-sequel sweepstakes. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrNov 21, 2013
Very few people will take in this spectacle of a society amusing itself to death, of “reality games” and the vapid media hysteria that surrounds them, and not draw a parallel to our own televised bread and circuses. At its best, “Catching Fire” is a blockbuster that bites the culture that made it. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 21, 2013
Pop-culture escapism can be thrilling when dished out by experts. Katniss is a character worth a handful of sequels. And Lawrence lights up the screen. You'll follow her anywhere. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 19, 2013
The screen translation of Catching Fire, the second volume of the series, offers its audience many of the elements that made The Hunger Games compelling, but adds to that by deepening the themes and emotional currents and traveling to darker destinations. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 19, 2013
Catching Fire makes only the occasional misstep. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerNov 21, 2013
As teencentric franchises go, I much prefer The Hunger Games to the blessedly expired “Twilight” films. For one thing, they employ much better actors. My favorite: Amanda Plummer, one of the best and most underused actresses in America, as one of the Quell contestants. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellNov 19, 2013
Lawrence steps up. And her character's fierce independence provides a welcome alternative to certain vampire-fixated young-adult heroines who define themselves entirely through the attention of much-much-older men. Read full review
80
CineVueDaniel GreenNov 20, 2015
With Catching Fire, director Lawrence certainly isn't afraid to bide his time and build anticipation for the truly spectacular (and tropical-tinged) Quarter Quell, patiently reestablishing crucial relationships for maximum dramatic pay-off. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirNov 21, 2013
It’s a middle chapter, for sure, but a vigorous and fast-paced one that leaves you hungry for more. Read full review
80
TimeRichard CorlissNov 20, 2013
Spinning in that wedding dress, or glaring in wary repose, Lawrence catches fire on screen. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranNov 20, 2013
An effective piece of melodramatic popular entertainment that savvily builds on the foundation established by the first Hunger Games movie. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 20, 2013
Catching Fire is a great leap forward for the franchise. Seeing as it’s all about hope and what it represents, here’s hoping the next two are just as good, if not better. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNov 19, 2013
The good news is it comes very close, and does it without sacrificing its soul. Despite its sense of been-here-slayed-that, director Francis Lawrence expertly delivers thrills, ideas and spectacle. Read full review
80
The DissolveGenevieve KoskiNov 19, 2013
It’s not just bigger, it’s better, and it bodes well for the future of the series, if not necessarily of its unlucky protagonist. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNov 18, 2013
Relatively speaking, Catching Fire is terrific. Even nonrelatively, it's pretty damn good. Read full review
80
EmpireIan NathanNov 12, 2013
Defying rote heroics and sidestepping those solemn Frodoisms lurking in the role, Lawrence seeks out the complex, human and earthy in Katniss, still the beating heart and total triumph of these movies. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 12, 2013
It’s a critic’s instinct to auto-praise any blockbuster that tries to do something different, but Catching Fire is so committed to carrying on the fine work started by its predecessor that the applause flows utterly naturally. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeNov 12, 2013
Catching Fire looks and feels epic. Hands down it’s one of the most entertaining films of the year. Read full review
80
Total FilmPaul BradshawNov 12, 2013
Catching Fire delivers on all the promise of Part 1 with a gutsier, tougher, better round of Games. Read full review
79
NPRIan BuckwalterNov 22, 2013
Everything that felt clumsy in The Hunger Games has been improved upon here. That's most apparent in the clarity of the action, but it also extends to how efficiently the film establishes so many new ensemble members. Read full review
79
Film.comWilliam GossNov 19, 2013
Steady-handed action is enough to elevate this film above its predecessor. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaNov 22, 2013
With each on-screen chapter, the poor girl from District 12 continues to fulfill her destiny as an inspiration and a rebel fighter. She is but one female, but she's the perfect antidote to the surplus of male superheroes out there. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 21, 2013
Best in its first hour, when it concentrates on the politics and the specific horrors of Panem. It becomes more conventional in the second half and loses steam, but it's always heading somewhere. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanNov 20, 2013
Catching Fire is smoothly exciting but a bit of a tease. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezNov 20, 2013
Catching Fire is a work of thoughtful, emotionally engaging sci-fi — everything that its predecessor The Hunger Games was not. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 19, 2013
Catching Fire has the bonus of a genuinely charismatic performer at its center. Jennifer Lawrence, now an Oscar winner thanks to "Silver Linings Playbook," emotes like crazy throughout "Catching Fire," but you never catch her acting. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Nov 19, 2013
Like too many franchise installments, Catching Fire builds to more of an ellipsis than a period, teasing the next chapter instead of providing closure. But isn’t that true of "The Empire Strikes Back" as well? At least casual fans will only have to wait a year, not three, to see what happens next in this galaxy not so far away. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaNov 19, 2013
Catching Fire is bigger, better and broodier than the first film. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartNov 19, 2013
Yes, it’s the middle chapter and feels like it, but it’s never dull. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineRichard LarsonNov 15, 2013
Francis Lawrence imbues the source material with visceral pleasure in well-wrought scenes vacillating between elaborate spectacle, breathtaking terror, and--occasionally--surprising beauty. Read full review
70
SlateDana StevensNov 21, 2013
Insofar as Catching Fire does ignite, the match to the flame is Jennifer Lawrence, who gives Katniss layers she lacks even in the books’ fairly rich characterization. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisNov 21, 2013
Catching Fire isn’t a great work of art but it’s a competent, at times exciting movie and it does something that better, more artistically notable movies often fail to do: It speaks to its moment in time. Read full review
70
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekNov 18, 2013
Catching Fire suffers from the movie equivalent of middle-book syndrome: The story is wayward and rangy, on its way to being something, maybe, but not adding up to much by itself. Still, it’s entertaining as civics lessons go, and it’s a more polished, assured picture than its predecessor. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyNov 12, 2013
This is a safe, serviceable, carefully crafted action drama in which the subversive seeds planted in the first story take welcome root. Read full review
67
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanNov 21, 2013
Lawrence gives the same committed, heart-rending performance, and she’s even more saintly than before: The script never lets her fire an arrow except in self-defense, and she stubbornly defies Snow in public, though she knows the probable consequence is death. Hutcherson has more personality this time, yet Peeta doesn’t deepen as a character. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesNov 20, 2013
The Hunger Games franchise, both in print and onscreen, has been exceptionally clever about cozying away imaginative space for fans to fill in the blanks and cast themselves in the rich drama. That this latest film leaves us hungering for more only means that it’s working. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 21, 2013
Everyone hits their marks with gusto and believability in Catching Fire... But the engine of the entire operation is Jennifer Lawrence. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsNov 21, 2013
The ingredients are in place for a potent finale, but “Catching Fire” is watered down. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigNov 20, 2013
Crowd-pleasing and compelling, most of all because of its fiery, charismatic heroine. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichNov 19, 2013
A Matrix Reloaded–like cliffhanger reminds that this is only the second installment out of four (good lord), but at least the flick leaves us with more than a tinge of interest in whom the odds will favor next. Read full review
60
The GuardianPaul MacInnesNov 12, 2013
What lets the movie down is its heart, or lack thereof. The reprise of the Games introduces new adversaries (and some allies) but has exactly the same dynamic as in the first movie. Read full review
50
The New YorkerDavid DenbyNov 25, 2013
Yet, despite the good acting, the middle section of the film, set at the Capitol, is attenuated and rhythmless — the filmmakers seem to be touching all the bases so that the trilogy’s readers won’t miss anything. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedNov 19, 2013
Enough is enough. One good thing: The jungle scenes were shot in Hawaii, so at least they all got a paid vacation. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreNov 19, 2013
Deep thoughts about re-directing cynically manipulated celebrity, lump in the throat moments at people rising up against their oppressors, a couple of memorable deaths and attempts at sacrifice play as flat when there’s nothing around them to serve as contrast. Read full review
More From This Movie

76 Critic Reviews

7.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 86 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2 84 Are You There God? It's Me,...
3 78 John Wick: Chapter 4
4 75 Polite Society
5 73 Air
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL