'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1' Review
'The Hunger Games' franchise (by Suzanne Collins) has proven itself to be the king of the post-'Harry Potter' YA craze. Bringing in hundreds of millions in the U.S alone, it has solidified itself as a critical and financial success. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Yet, 'Lionsgate' has jumped on the bandwagon of not allowing one simple book to be adapted into a single movie, but rather a two-parter. Does this money grubbing decision work? From a storytelling standpoint: Absolutely not.
'Mockingjay-Part 1' focuses on the heroine Katniss Everdeen (still played wonderfully by Jennifer Lawrence) as she finds herself in the midst of a revolution, in which she is the symbol. The former Hunger Games champion is made up for propaganda commercials and intense speeches against the capitol who involuntarily gave her fame. Tensions rise, yet we never see them ignite by the end of this portion of the story.
The performances are excellent as always in this third flick. Lawrence is still so comfortable in the role of Katniss. Seeing this character grow has become like watching an old friend at this point. Liam Hemsworth also gets a lot more time in the spotlight as Gale. We see a far more sensitive side that isn't extremely apparent for him in the previous chapters. The late Phillip Seymour Hoffman's performance is magnetic, and it's still extremely emotional viewing his talents on screen. Woody Harrelson (while not a constant presence) is still very entertaining as the drunken mentor, Haymitch. Julianne Moore is solid as the new character, President Coin. Donald Sutherland is still intimidating as President Snow. Some previous characters such as Josh Hutcherson's Peeta, Elizabeth Banks's Effie, or Stanley Tucci's Caesar Flickerman are only on screen for a short period of time, yet they still make an impression.
However, 'Mockingjay-Part 1' is a problematic two hour movie. The faults do not lie within the writing, directing or acting, but rather the overall structure that the studio insisted upon. The concept of dragging one novel out into multiple films for a series first became popular with 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' in 2010 and 2011. Since then, this unapologetically corporate style of book adaption has become a fad, with the likes of 'The Twilight Saga', 'The Hobbit', and 'Divergent' jumping on board. Now, the franchise that seemed too artistically intelligent to succumb to this way of filmmaking has made something that feels more like a teaser trailer for what's to come, rather than an actual story.
Many sequences within the film feel like they are only there to stretch out the unnecessary running time. Long talks of exposition, or restating what we've already seen are more and more apparent as the movie progresses. There's only a handful of truly exciting moments in this installment. For example, seeing the world of Panem outside the woods of District 12 or the city streets of the Capitol is quite interesting. Director Francis Lawrence really does a terrific job building the world in a epic, yet slightly realistic manner. Plus, when bullets and arrows do begin to fly, it is terrific to watch. Now only if there were more moments like this. And while the cliffhanger is indeed a gasp worthy one, the nearly hour and a half of talking and computer hacking, doesn't truly make it worth the wait.
Overall, 'Mockingjay-Part 1' is a faithful adaption, and nice setup for an epic finale, yet nothing else. I feel awkward even addressing this chapter of the saga as a "movie". For it doesn't really have a beginning, middle and end, but rather a beginning, half a middle, and a fade to black. When I left the theater, the excitement that had blossomed when I saw 'Catching Fire' last year wasn't felt within the audience. It's as if when I was reading Suzanne Collins' novel, someone pried it from my hands as I reached chapter fourteen, and then said I couldn't have it back for a year. Perhaps I'll look more fondly on 'Mockingjay-Part 1' when its companion piece comes out next fall, but until then I still believe it leaves much to be desired.
Grade:C+
Review by: Josh McCormack
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