The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Review

Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Mahershala Ali, Jeffrey Wright, Donald Sutherland, Sam Claflin, Josh Hutcherson

Running Time: 121 Minutes

Certificate: 12A

Synopsis: Having been rescued by the rebels, Katniss Everdeen must become the face of the revolution in order to unite all other districts in a war against The Capitol.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 continues the trend of splitting the final book in a popular series of novels into two parts. Cynics will quote money as being the main reason, whereas we could just as easily justify loyalty to fans who want as much as possible from their favourite fiction. No matter how you look at it, this is the best Hunger Games yet, despite, or maybe because, the “games” as we know them are now absent.

Such a move means that we are now allowed to be fully dedicated and immersed in character development and a plot that isn’t just a kill or be killed shooting gallery plot. With silly games and technology pushed to one side, this is a much more grounded (or should that be undergrounded) affair. It’s all less flashy, with costumes from The Capitol only appearing in brief TV segments, and the film is thankfully torn away from commentary on reality TV. We spend most of the film in the base of the previously believed extinct District 13, where everything is grey and black, or just a dull blue. It’s up to Plutarch Heavensbee (Hoffman) and District 13 President Alma Coin (Moore) to convince Katniss (Lawrence) to become the face of the revolution.

This is where the film shows its surprising intelligence and absolute brilliance. Rather than merely being a big fighting battle epic of a final installment, instead we see a battle of propaganda. As Peeta (Hutcherson) is presumably forced by The Capitol to do interviews where he condemns violent action, Katniss and her team of filmmakers and soldiers go out to make stirring videos. The action is still there, as it makes its way into the propaganda machine, but essentially this is a fight between ideologies fought in the editing suite. Seeing the Districts band together in dramatic sequences of sacrifice is certainly worthy of raising some goosebumps, especially when accompanied by a lyrically simple tune that becomes a bit of an anthem.

Lawrence takes Katniss to new levels, and manages to be both hysterically whiny and strong at the same time. It all makes sense judging on what she has been through and the fact she is still very much a young girl. The late Hoffman, and Julianne Moore, give great performances in which they show professional chemistry as opposed to the emotional scenes shared in MAGNOLIA. Other cast members such as Sam Claflin and Jeffrey Wright also have plenty to do, or plenty of places to take their characters, while Elizabeth Banks manages to keep her flamboyance despite a lack of splendour in the art direction department. As the film expands upon the book in order to move away from the first person narrative, it also intelligently leaves out certain characters while giving us more of an incite into the workings of President Snow (Sutherland).

As somebody who refused to read the final two books after being less than impressed (absolutely hated) with the first, while quite enjoying the two previous feature films, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 is pretty fantastic all round, with its only draw back being its lack of an ending (understandable given the whole “Part 1” thing). Instead of children killing each other off without reason, we now have warriors fighting for a cause. It’s quite powerful stuff and is taken very seriously indeed. Well paced, engaging, tightly scripted, and just full on exciting, this is a film of smarts and action that has a more genuine message than that of its predecessors.

[usr=4] THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 is released in cinemas on 20th November.