Not even the snobbiest of cinephiles can scoff at the likes of Jena Malone, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jeffrey Wright. These are established and respected veterans in their field, and get a chance to surprise and delight us in a more playful environment than we may have watched them in previously. Hoffman gets the least time to show off in Catching Fire, but the mystery surrounding his endgame—what his moves and countermoves are meant to be leading toward—is made all the more intriguing by his guarded demeanor. I have a soft spot for a muted Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Wright gets to be the weird nerd, and he’s always good playing eccentrics. Few other actors would have the authority to insist some dubious technology to work simply by stating “I invented it. It’ll work.” Most seem to agree that Malone steals the show, though. Her open defiance and crass expressiveness easily makes her an instant fan favorite. She gets to say what we’re thinking at several key points of the movie.
Adding to the aforementioned talents of Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks from the first installment, this new set of actors that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see in a blockbuster franchise only serves to build up the formidable strength of the Hunger Games ensemble even more.
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