Before I get into the flaws about Francis Lawrence directing Catching Fire, its best if I do highlight the benefits of bringing him to direct the sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. despite Lawrence's track record, he has shown to be impressive with his action sequences in I Am Legend. If there is anything Lawrence will succeed in, in Catching Fire its the action and visuals. We saw in his most recent film Water for Elephants, even though it wasn't received well critically it did achieve well in visuals and he left us with something you could say was beautiful (better than nothing). Although Lawrence may be of great use in those areas we also want a good adaptation that is well received all around critically and from fans. That's what made The Hunger Games such a huge success and one of the reasons we can say it wasn't just a tween franchise slapped on paper and whipped out on screen looking to make good box office. Lets hope we don't stoop that low.With Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and Suzanne Collins (who was smart to co-write and make sure the adaptation of The Hunger Games was done the right way) writing the screenplay, we can surely be a bit relieved that we do have some good writers with Catching Fire in their hands although we don't want speak too soon. Even with an Oscar winning writer there could still be mistakes made. Other big blockbuster movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides saw the low end in terms of domestic box office and critical reception with an Oscar winning director.
With Lawrence's previous films you can't get too comfortable with how Catching Fire will turn out. Hopefully he'll keep it as suspenseful and overall well adapted as The Hunger Games. Also one last very important thing. Please don't rush into the action. Develop the story and characters. This is what made The Hunger Games well received and such a great adaptation.
