10 Movie Sequels That Were Way Better Than They Had Any Right To Be
9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Despite its success, the first Hunger Game film is a bit of a mess.
Gary Ross' film can never quite decide what it wants to be. It is part YA adaption in the vein of the ever-successful Twilight series, part limp Battle Royale knock-off, and essentially just an extended CliffsNotes of the first book that feels more compelled to cover every expositional beat possible rather than craft a solid narrative.
Considering the continued success of other YA franchises at the time, there was little reason for Lionsgate to mess with the formula too much. They could have easily just kept chugging them out at the same quality and raking in the dough.
But miraculously, they didn't.
New director Francis Lawrence stepped in and, with a heightened budget from Lionsgate, delivered a genuinely thrilling science-fiction blockbuster. Whereas the first film felt constantly unsure of itself, Catching Fire runs head-first into its dystopian roots and is a much more confident and capable film as a result.
The narrative is better, the action is much stronger, and the performances are more compelling. Jennifer Lawrence especially delivers a real tour-de-force performance here, proving that she's more than capable of bringing her awards-worthy indie gravitas to genre fare such as this.