Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 left me starving

Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson
Written by: Peter Craig (screenplay), Danny Strong (screenplay)

Synopsis: When Katniss destroys the games, she goes to District 13 after District 12 is destroyed. She meets President Coin who convinces her to be the symbol of rebellion, while trying to save Peeta from the Capitol.

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I have a message for President Snow…I’m dying from boredom!

It’s disappointing to say but The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 does not live up to the quality of the other films. While the film started with an explanation following Catching Fire and a strong focal point for Mockingjay, this film was plagued with extended dialogue and overbearing redundancies.

Plagued with extended dialogue.

From the first 15 minutes of the film, we’re given the objectives and motives of each of the characters. The struggle to start the resistance and rescue Peeta is apparent and regurgitated throughout the rest of the film. These objectives would seem to be a catalyst for excitement and action. Instead they end up being the driving force for a lackluster political campaign attempting to gain public appeal. This campaign is viewed from an introverted perspective which is the film’s downfall in my opinion. I would have loved to see a broad look at the other districts and the effects of the political war between Katniss aka the Mockingjay and President Snow. Unfortunately Katniss only ventures out once to a populated district and the rest of the film is confined conversation.

When Katniss does travel to that one district, it is the best moment of the film.

When Katniss does travel to that one district, it is the best moment of the film. Prior to departure, Katniss has a very cool James Bond type moment. Beetee acts as her own personal Q showing off some cool inventions to add to her arsenal. This got me excited and ready to see Katniss in action. Unfortunately though, if you’ve seen the trailer and enjoyed the action then you better savor it. The battle that you see in the trailer is essentially the only physical battle you will see throughout the film. While it may be the only battle, it is quite the visual spectacle. The intensity and scale of the warfare is what you’d expect from The Hunger Games franchise. The explosions and heart-pounding action in this scene are the fun moments that I wish could have been more present in this film.

This is where we get the Katniss we love!

Overall I would say that this film could have been entertaining if it were extremely condensed. Because of the redundantly confined dialogue, all aspects of this film suffer including plot, acting, and cinematography. The first 45 minutes of this film would make an adequate “Part 1” for Mockingjay but the rest is just verbal cannon fodder. I do believe that “Part 2” will be much better, but this film lead me to believe that Mockingjay could have been one film instead of two. While it may be a bit unfair to judge this film without it’s counterpart, the studios chose to go this route and released this as a standalone film. Therefore I regrettably have to express my disapproval. Unfortunately this film will be a must see if you’re planning on seeing “Part 2” which I’m sure will be the film containing the excitement.