'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' Review

Hungry for more

Film review by Isaac Handelman

Following the trend set by Harry Potter, Twilight and The Hobbit, Mockingjay is the latest literary sensation to see multiple films devoted to its adaptation. Next year’s Mockingjay - Part 2 will serve as the finale of the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, but for now we’re being treated to a consolation prize in the form of Mockingjay - Part 1. What’s here is almost exactly what you’d expect: too little content stretched across too many minutes, rescued by the strong performances, memorable characters and high production values that we have come to expect out of the franchise.

Katniss takes a return visit to District 12.

Picking up right after Catching Fire, Mockingjay - Part 1 finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and her buddies Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Plutarch (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) within the confines of the elusive District 13. Unfortunately, Katniss isn’t feeling too friendly towards her friends; in fact, she’s furious that they conspired to save her at the Quarter Quell at the expense of Peeta’s capture. Katniss is soon introduced to District 13 leader President Coin (Julianne Moore), who, alongside Plutarch, urges the reluctant victor to take up costume as the Mockingjay, symbol of Panam’s revolution, in order to unite the Districts against the abusive rule of President Snow (Donald Sutherland).

A large portion of Part 1 takes place inside of District 13. That’s both a positive and a negative; the confined scope of the film is bound to bother many viewers, but it also gives a chance for the stellar production design to be shown off. The sets bring District 13 to vivid life just as I imagined it in the books. It is a rather drab place in comparison to the rest of Panam, but extraordinarily well realized nonetheless.

The film's action is sparse but engaging.

Thankfully, Mockingjay - Part 1 establishes a clear arc for itself. It’s unmistakably a prelude, and therefore, by definition, is completely unfulfilling in and of itself, but it does possess a semi-cohesive arc. And at least it ends at a place that isn’t any less conclusive than the ridiculous cliffhanger at the end of Catching Fire.

Part 1 also manages to mostly avoid dullness. Though the film is far less action-heavy than previous outings, the action that is here is exciting, tense, and well directed by Francis Lawrence. And it all carries more gravity now that we’re no longer in the games. There is one sequence in particular, though, that tries much too hard to capture intensity, and ends up feeling silly as a result. That’s probably because screenwriters Danny Strong and Peter Craig were suffering from a shortage of content to adapt.

Plutarch (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and
President Coin (Julianne Moore)

The screenwriters include the same sort of political subtext that the series has always delivered -- which is to say, it’s not exactly subtle, but at least it’s there in a moderately-intelligent form. Less welcome is the presence of a few especially ham-fisted lines of dialogue. Take, for instance, a scene where Peeta gives what is very obviously a warning to Katniss, only for Haymitch to interject with, “That was a warning! He’s trying to warn us!”

But more often than not, the strength of the performers is enough to balance out any shortcomings of the script. Lawrence is strong as usual, even if she’s forced to tears a tad too often over the course of the film’s duration. We can only see a distraught Katniss break down in shock so many times before it starts to lose its gravitas and just feel overly familiar.

Harrelson, Moore, Sutherland, and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman bring a group of strong veteran performances to the proceedings, and each of them excels in his or her role. Harrelson’s just as gruff and lovable as ever, and he, alongside standout Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, is responsible for most of the film’s comedic moments. Hoffman comes into his own in the role of Plutarch; no longer forced to play the bad guy, the character becomes a far more enjoyable on-screen presence this time around. Moore’s performance as Coin is also solid; she may not be the most dynamic character, but her strict, militaristic personality is brought to life well by the actress. Hopefully she’ll get some more engaging dramatic material to grapple with in Part 2, because there’s definite potential in her character.

The Mockingjay gathers supporters.

Sutherland shines as well, though in a more sinister way. Snow gets his best material thus far in the franchise, and finally comes off with all of the imposing malevolency that the character has always flirted with but never before realized.

There are also a handful of surprise standouts this time around. Peeta’s character is more interesting than he’s ever been before, and Hutcherson performs admirably, imbuing the character with some intriguing new avenues that I’m excited to see explored. Even Gale, who was previously one of the most rote, uninteresting characters in the entire series, gets some deeper material to grapple with, and Liam Hemsworth handles the content well. The Katniss/Peeta/Gale love triangle is made more interesting than ever before by the complexity added to both Peeta and Gale.

Mockingjay - Part 1 is an unmistakable penultimate chapter, which is to say it serves almost entirely as set-up for what is to come. Part 1 feels like slightly more complete a product that you might expect, but still, above all else, it succeeds at stirring up viewer excitement for the finale. Whether you’ll enjoy watching what is essentially a well-crafted, two-hour tease boils down to how heavily invested you are in the franchise.