The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Mockingjay Part 1

Left me hungry for part 2

A serious turn for the saga, emotional but solid. 

Grade: B+

By Moriya 

It is safe to say that Mockingjay Part 1 was not at all what I expected.

Being a committed fan of the books, I was very conflicted walking in to this movie. Of course, I was excited because of my absolute love for the movie Catching Fire, but also quite nervous because the book Mockingjay was my least favorite. I tried to cleanse my mind of all bias before the movie started so that I would be more neutral in my review. So here it is.

Comparatively, I felt that Mockingjay was considerably more dark than its predecessors. But let me be more specific, because this was not (in my opinion) a negative thing. 

Through The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the viewer goes through the journey of being selected for the Games (twice) with Katniss Everdeen(Jennifer Lawrence, House at the End of the Street). The viewer follows and relates to her while the story builds and takes form, giving sufficient back-story and understanding. At the end of Catching Fire, a bomb drops (literally) when Katniss learns that her home of District 12 has been obliterated by President Snow (Donald Sutherland, The Italian Job) and his 'Peacekeeper' army. This leaves a very high stress beginning to Mockingjay, which could have gone very badly; however, I was quite impressed. 

Plot Summary:

Katniss wakes up in a vast underground military base beneath the rubble of the infamous District 13, that was supposedly destroyed years previous as punishment for uprising against the Capitol. District 13's leader, President Coin (Julianne Moore, Crazy Stupid Love), as well as some other familiar faces like Katniss's old mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, Now You See Me), best friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth, The Last Song), ex-Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensby (the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Mission Impossible III) and little sister Prim (Willow Shields) are all supporting Katniss to become the face of the rebellion: the Mockingjay. Also saved from the Games is Katniss' fellow tribute, Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin, Snow White and the Huntsman) whose fragile mental state mirrors her own. 

 All of the refugees are housed in an intense, massive bomb shelter, and are doing there part to support the cause. Katniss is an emotional grenade, understandably, since her fiance Peeta (Josh Hutcherson, Bridge to Terabithia) along with friend and fellow tribute Johanna Mason (Jena Malone, Sucker Punch) have been captured by the Capitol and held prisoners since the end of the Quarter Quell.  Tension is rising, Katniss is feeling the pressure, and the war looks like it is just beginning. 

Thoughts:

The feel of this addition to the series is reminiscent of a futuristic/dystopian WWII story. It seemed very emotional and took a different action focus this time around, closely resembling a more traditional war movie, with more classic battle sequences, including bomb raids, and overall just seeming a bit more raw. It was also quite pleasing that characters in movies previous who have really hit the back-burner (like Gale, Prim and Momma Everdeen), got to soak up some spotlight. To combat that, some of the other characters did have to take a step back to make room, like Peeta, Haymitch and Johanna. 

As always, the cinematography was excellent and very reflective of our protagonist's mental state, accompanied by a phenomenal soundtrack to enhance the film experience. With admiral performances from almost everyone in the all star cast, the few flaws I could see were limited to little comic relief, as well as a lot of build up with a semi-inconclusive ending. But of course, that's because it's only PART 1 PEOPLE.  Look forward to Part 2 coming this November.

Content Overview

Rated PG-13 for mild language throughout, no strong language, violence with some blood, but no intense gore. Some scenes with seriously malnourished persons, some with cuts, bruises, and bandaged wounds. Some action scenes featuring bombs and explosions and mass death is implied. No nudity, no drugs, and alcohol only in conversation is present. Mentally unstable persons are also shown with intention to commit violent acts.