If you haven't seen the first two movies or read the first two books in The Hunger Games series, don't see this movie or read this review yet. This film and its review contain spoilers from the previous movies and may be confusing for those not familiar with the premise. If you saw or read Catching Fire, you'll recall that it ended with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) being rescued from the arena and taken to District 13, which everyone thought had been destroyed in the uprising against The Capitol several decades earlier. Now we learn that the people of District 13 have been surviving underground and hope to unite the other districts in a new rebellion.
The president of District 13, Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) want Katniss to officially become "the mockingjay," a symbol of rebellion. Plutarch believes she'll inspire the other districts to fight against The Capitol. Katniss is still angry with them for rescuing her instead of Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), who has been captured by The Capitol. After she sees the destroyed remains of her own District 12, she agrees to become the mockingjay under certain conditions. They broadcast a series of videos of Katniss sending messages both to the districts and to Panem's dictator, President Snow (Donald Sutherland).
The filmmakers jumped on the recent Hollywood bandwagon of splitting the final book of the series into two parts. They do this both to avoid cutting too much and to milk the cash cow. Instead of ending the first part two-thirds into the book like most two-part adaptations, this one ends halfway into the story. The first half of the book is less action-packed, but the movie makes up for it by showing some of the fighting going on in the districts. The book doesn't show these events as explicitly because it's told exclusively from Katniss's point-of-view. I doubt Part 2 will be as well-liked because the book's climax has several unpopular plot and character choices.
The cast is better than ever. As usual, Jennifer Lawrence is the force that drives the strong emotions of the film. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman gets a lot more screen time than he did in Catching Fire. Julianne Moore is unrecognizable with her gray hair; we'll get a better sense of her character in Part 2. Josh Hutcherson, who mostly just appears in broadcasts from The Capitol, shows a greater range of acting skills than he's ever shown before. Sadly, the series' most fun characters like Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), and Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) don't get much screen time, so there isn't much comic relief.
I liked this movie, but not as much as the first two. It has a somewhat different feel. This one doesn't have an arena competition. The activities in District 13 make this entry in the series feel more like a modern war movie than a futuristic dystopian thriller. The mood is grimmer, but is occasionally saved by inspiring moments. The film balances out intense action with thought-provoking subject matter very well. The camerawork, like in the second film, mostly succeeds in avoiding the overuse of a shaky camera, which was the biggest flaw of the first film. All in all, Mockingjay Part 1 is a decent adaptation of the better half of my least favorite book in The Hunger Games series.
The president of District 13, Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) want Katniss to officially become "the mockingjay," a symbol of rebellion. Plutarch believes she'll inspire the other districts to fight against The Capitol. Katniss is still angry with them for rescuing her instead of Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), who has been captured by The Capitol. After she sees the destroyed remains of her own District 12, she agrees to become the mockingjay under certain conditions. They broadcast a series of videos of Katniss sending messages both to the districts and to Panem's dictator, President Snow (Donald Sutherland).
The filmmakers jumped on the recent Hollywood bandwagon of splitting the final book of the series into two parts. They do this both to avoid cutting too much and to milk the cash cow. Instead of ending the first part two-thirds into the book like most two-part adaptations, this one ends halfway into the story. The first half of the book is less action-packed, but the movie makes up for it by showing some of the fighting going on in the districts. The book doesn't show these events as explicitly because it's told exclusively from Katniss's point-of-view. I doubt Part 2 will be as well-liked because the book's climax has several unpopular plot and character choices.
The cast is better than ever. As usual, Jennifer Lawrence is the force that drives the strong emotions of the film. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman gets a lot more screen time than he did in Catching Fire. Julianne Moore is unrecognizable with her gray hair; we'll get a better sense of her character in Part 2. Josh Hutcherson, who mostly just appears in broadcasts from The Capitol, shows a greater range of acting skills than he's ever shown before. Sadly, the series' most fun characters like Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), and Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) don't get much screen time, so there isn't much comic relief.
I liked this movie, but not as much as the first two. It has a somewhat different feel. This one doesn't have an arena competition. The activities in District 13 make this entry in the series feel more like a modern war movie than a futuristic dystopian thriller. The mood is grimmer, but is occasionally saved by inspiring moments. The film balances out intense action with thought-provoking subject matter very well. The camerawork, like in the second film, mostly succeeds in avoiding the overuse of a shaky camera, which was the biggest flaw of the first film. All in all, Mockingjay Part 1 is a decent adaptation of the better half of my least favorite book in The Hunger Games series.
My rating: 7/10
