Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | 2013 | PG-13 | - 3.6.4

After being victorious in the 74th Hunger Games, a young couple (Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson) find themselves thrown back in the arena to fight against other victors in yet another attempt at controlling the population, which is now moving toward revolution. Also with Liam Hemsworth, Jack Quaid, Taylor St. Clair, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Woody Harrelson, Paula Malcomson, Willow Shields, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Bruce Bundy, Nelson Ascencio, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ritchson, Stephanie Leigh Schlund, Meta Golding, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, Megan Hayes, Sam Claflin, Lynn Cohen and Jena Malone. Directed by Francis Lawrence. [2:26]

SEX/NUDITY 3 - A woman undresses while on an elevator with a man, a young man and a young woman (we see her bare upper chest and shoulders and her back and briefly a sliver of the side of her breast as she leaves the elevator). A shirtless man talks to a young woman and we see his bare shoulders, abdomen and back. A young woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders. Many women at a gala wear low-cut dresses that reveal bare shoulders and backs as well as cleavage. A young woman wears a tight-fitting dress that accentuates her figure. A young woman's bare knees and upper calves are shown when she is seated while wearing a dress. A young woman wears a dress with cutouts that reveal her bare shoulders and cleavage.
 A young man and a young woman hug, then slip on ice and she lands on top of him; they kiss and are interrupted. A young man kisses a young woman tenderly. A young man and a young woman kiss in several scenes. An elderly woman kisses a young man on the lips. A man kisses a young woman on the lips and the young woman appears alarmed.
 After waking up from a nightmare, a young woman asks a young man to stay with her and we see them holding each other in bed (both are clothed and no sex is implied). A young man and a young woman lie together in bed (they hold each other while fully clothed and no sex is implied). A young man and a young woman hug and he asks her if she loves him.
 A young man proposes marriage to a young woman and gets down on one knee. A man looks into a camera and speaks to his "love" saying that his thoughts will be of "your lips." A young girl says, "some day I want to love someone that much" while watching a couple on TV. A man refers to a young man and a young woman as "lethal lovers."

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - A thick fog moves toward four people; one of them reaches out to touch the fog and she is burned (she screams and we see blisters develop); the others run from the fog, but they each are touched by it (some more than others) and one is burned on the leg and left unable to run; one of the party walks into the fog to die (we see her disappear) while a man in the group calls out for her.
 Large baboons surround three people in a jungle; one bears its long, sharp teeth and growls, the others become agitated and lunge at the party; one man is knocked down and bitten, the others fight the baboons with arrows and spears, as well as kicking and punching (we see a baboon run through and others hacked, no blood is seen); one of the party is attacked and held under water until someone else kills the creature (we hear a crunch). A woman hiding in brush is attacked by a baboon and falls to the ground (we hear her gasping as she is carried away); a young man holds her while she dies and we see her body taken away by a flying vessel.
 24 men and women are shown standing on pedestals in a body of water; an alarm bell rings and they are shown diving into the water and swimming frantically, then running toward an area where there are supplies; one young woman retrieves a bow and arrows and shoots another man in the leg while another man throws an axe into a man's chest (he falls dead with no blood evident); a young man and a man fight in the water, then go underwater and one of them floats to the surface dead.
 A woman is stabbed in the back (we hear a crunch and a thud, no blood), the man who stabbed her is shot in the chest with an arrow and falls dead (no blood) and several other men and women fight when the island they are on spins around and throws a couple of them off and into water, and then stops. A young woman is hit in the head by a woman, she falls to the ground and the woman cuts the young woman's arm (we see blood on her arm and her neck); the woman throws an ax at a man approaching and she runs.
 A young man is shown strapped to a column in a district square and he is being whipped by a man (we see the deep, bloody lash marks and the young man screams in pain); a young woman runs to help him and the man with the whip punches her in the face (she falls to the ground and we see a bloody mark on her cheek), and then whips her; she stands defiantly in front of the bound young man and the man with the whip draws a gun on her and threatens to shoot her; another man and a young man enter and convince the man with the gun to back down, but he says "next time it's the firing squad" (the man with the gun is shown with blood splatter on his uniform and face); we see a video of part of the whipping again later. A man is grabbed by guards and struck in the face; he crashes into a glass wall and blood splatters and smears on the glass, he falls to the floor and they kick and beat him repeatedly until he is seen unconscious and he is dragged away (a young woman watches the whole thing while screaming). A young woman with a bow and arrow aims at a flock of turkeys and shoots; we see the arrow strike a young man in the chest, he falls dead (no blood is shown) and screams and quakes uncontrollably (it is evident that she is having a flashback).
 A young man with a machete hacks vines in a jungle as he and three other people trudge through it; the young man accidentally hits a force field and we see a flash as he is thrown through the air; we see the young man land on the ground motionless and a young woman says that he is not breathing; a man performs CPR until the young man is revived. A man is zapped by a force field and we see him thrown through the air and he lies on the ground twitching; we see him recovering later. A young woman is thrown through the air after lightning hits a tree that she is standing near; she is shown lying on the ground as structures collapse around her and she is lifted into a flying vessel (she has blood on her arm and neck and face).
 Guards with batons enter a crowd and drag an elderly man to a stage where they force him to his knees and shoot him in the back of the head (we see the gun being raised to his head and see it being fired (we do not see the impact); we see the man dead and being taken away by guards later (no blood is evident). A man and a woman are taken out of a crowd by guards with batons and it is presumed that they are punished or killed (we do not see the act). Armed guards move into a district where they are greeted by another guard; they place a bag over his head, drag him away (he is presumably killed, but we do not see the act) and fire a gun into the air. A young woman holding a syringe attacks a man and they fight briefly; they talk and she punches him in the face, and then another man injects her with a sedative.
 A guard raises a baton to an elderly man and a young man tackles him to the ground. A young woman yells and struggles against guards that pull her away from an elderly man who is shot off-screen. We see several video screens with images of people revolting against guards with people being struck by batons and fires burning. Guards root through a district, destroying possessions and burning everything. A young woman, a young man and a man are marched into a district square by armed guards and after an announcement they are ushered onto a train; the young woman yells and struggles to get away. A man carries an elderly woman on his back through most of the scenes in the arena.
 A man with deep, bloody lash wounds on his back moans when liquid is poured on him and when he is injected with a pain reliever; we see the gashes and blood as he is treated and we see a young girl inject him in the back with a hypodermic needle. After being burned by a poisoned fog and having painful blisters on their bodies three people soak in water to wash away the poison (they moan in pain and relief). Three people are shown covered with blood and one of them describes thick blood rain. A woman is shown with pointed teeth and we are told that she carved them into fangs so that she can bite the throats out of her enemies. A woman is shown with bloody wound on her eye and her hand is covered with blood. A woman appears to be mute. A man drinks from a glass of what looks like champagne and the liquid turns red (it's not clear if his mouth is bleeding). After whipping a man in a district square, the man with the whip wipes the whip and we hear a squish (implied to be blood and tissue). A man is shown with a scar on his cheek. Men are shown emerging from a mine and we see their faces and clothing covered with soot. A young woman is injected with a tracking device in the arm (a small, slightly bloody ring is seen on her flesh). A young man is shown with bloody knuckles. A young woman regains consciousness and we see her with n oxygen mask on and an IV in her arm; she pulls the IV out (no blood).
 We hear a rumble and a woman's scream as we see a huge wave of water flow through a jungle; a flying vessel retrieves a body and takes it away (we do not see it). A man and a young woman run into a thick jungle when they hear what they think are the screams of a loved one; it is birds that mimic and the young woman shoots one bird out of the sky; the two then run while being swarmed by the screaming birds and fall to their knees holding their ears (it eventually stops).
 A man kills a fish with a trident and we see him and two others eating the raw flesh along with oysters. A young woman holds a dead rabbit, hanging by its foot, after being caught in a snare (no blood is evident) and a young man holds what looks like a dead small bird.
 A young woman prepares a dummy and hangs it by a rope in front of a group of people; we see that is painted with the face of a man and his name. We see several people practicing with arrows, knives, axes and spears and shattering a computer generated opponent. A young woman armed with a bow and arrow is startled by a noise behind her and spins around to see a young man; she slowly lowers her bow and they talk.
 A young woman wakes up screaming from a nightmare and a young man comes into the room to calm her. A woman yells defiantly when being interviewed on a TV show. A young woman pounds on the door of a man's house, goes inside and finds the man unconscious on the table (presumably drunk); the young woman pours liquid from a mug on the man's head (presumably alcohol) and he wakes up screaming; she yells back, grabs him by the throat and pushes him back into his chair.
 A man talks about setting a trap to electrocute remaining tributes. A young woman asks a man, "Why don't you just kill me now?" to which he replies, "I don't want you dead." A man speaks to a young woman in a threatening manner and tells her to imagine all of the people that she cares about being "dead" and leaving behind a radioactive wasteland. A man asks a young woman if she would like a "real war" and she answers "No." A young woman says to a young man, "I did what I had to do to survive. If I didn't I'd be dead." People talk about a young man and a young woman nearly eating poisoned berries (we see them bring them close to their mouths but they are interrupted before ingesting them). A young man talks about people starving while others are "throwing up" so they can eat more. People talk about a man who "decided to quit breathing" and we understand that he was murdered. A man talks about instilling fear and hate in people by inundating them with images of floggings and executions. People talk about being worked "like slaves." A woman says that people "want to fight." A man talks about people being "experienced killers." A woman says, "I'd love to put my axe in her face." A young woman, relieved that a young man was revived says, "You were dead, your heart stopped beating," and he replies, "it's working now." A woman says, "There's no one left that I love." A man tells a young woman that "They dropped firebombs and it's all gone," referring to their district.
 A young woman's dress and a young man's clothing burst into flames (they are not actual flames) as they are presented to a crowd. A young woman spins around onstage ad her dress catches fire, and it then changes color and it sprouts bird wings. We see lightning flashes in the distance a few times and we hear loud booms a few times.
 A man vomits on a wall in a practice room (we hear him gag and we see goo splatter on the wall). A man hands a young man a pink beverage and tells him to drink it because "It makes you sick so you can go on eating."

LANGUAGE 4 - 2 bleeped F-words (we can read the woman's lips), 2 scatological terms, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (stupid bird, cheeky, crazed-besotted school girl, Katnip, stubborn, lethal lovers, genius, peacock, Nuts and Volts, honey, lovebirds), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. God, Oh My God).

SUBSTANCE USE - A man and a young woman drink alcohol from the same bottle, a young woman places two bottles of alcohol on a table and a man picks one up and drinks from it, people drink what looks like champagne at a celebration, people drink alcohol and colorful drinks at a gala, a man hands a young man a pink beverage and tells him to drink it because "It makes you sick so you can go on eating," and a man drinks from a glass of what looks like champagne and the liquid turns red (it's not clear if his mouth is bleeding).

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Survival, starvation, revolution, lying, contempt, control, fear, class, family, using people for entertainment purposes, privilege, friendship, love, courage, sacrifice, intimidation, generating hope, secrets, ambition, freedom, peace, treason, propaganda, celebrity, bravery, death of friends and loved ones, arrogance, success, failure, strength, valor, symbolism, hate, ideals, mentoring, jealousy, mercy, acts of defiance, being grateful, honor, dignity, invincibility.

MESSAGE - Hope is stronger than fear.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This