When we last saw Jennifer Lawrence on screen as the teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen, she had just awoken from her rescue after the quarter-quell arena chaos. Katniss quickly found out, as our second film Catching Fire draws to a close, that district 12, her home, was firebombed by the Capital. Now, she is en route to the fabled district 13 which was thought to have been destroyed by the Capital 75 years ago. Mockingjay part 1 picks up right where our story left off. Katniss is on the mend and has been reunited in district 13 with her family and friends from district 12. Soon our heroine is swept up into the revolution by the man who designed the quarter-quell games and engineered her escape, Plutarch Heavensbee played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and the President of district 13 Alma Coin played by Julianne Moore. Coin and Heavensbee are hatching a plan to use Katniss, or rather the “girl on fire”, as the face of the revolution. After some convincing, Katniss agrees to help in order to end the tyranny of the maniacal President Snow played by Donald Sutherland. As Katniss begins filming promos and propaganda for the revolution, skipping from war zones to hospitals acting like a sort of USO celebrity meant to unite the troops, we begin to see the real destruction being done on the front. As the rebels begin airing her promos on TV we get a peek at the face of the Capital, Peeta Mellark played by Josh Hutcherson. Peeta, now brainwashed perhaps, and Katniss end up facing off over the airwaves in a propaganda-style war-of-words that would make any politician alive today blush. The revolution continues to rage on and become more personal than ever for Katniss as we go on this emotional voyage with the girl on fire.
As someone who has read the entire series of books, and enjoyed the first two films, I wasn't sure if I would like this newest addition to the series. Nearly everyone I have discussed the book series with views Mockingjay as the weakest of the trilogy. It has always seemed to me that Suzanne Collins wrote a great couple of novels and then her publisher wanted a third book so she tacked Mockingjay onto the series to make a trilogy. Adding to that, I also wasn't happy that Lionsgate decided to split this book into two films. Although I was a bit pessimistic about this film going in, I think Mockingjay was well done. This series has really done a great job of taking a young adult (YA) novel series and adding in great acting. By casting the young talent of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, & Liam Hemsworth and combining them with Woody Harrleson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, and of course Stanley Tucci, the acting is excellent in this film. Each actor provides the depth needed for their character and even allow the audience a few laughs in this film with such incredibly intense subject matter.
With good source material, a well written screen adaptation of that material, excellent acting, and of course likable (or hateable) characters, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 offers up everything we have come to expect and love about this series. I give this film a 4 out of 5 stars. Make sure to watch the first two films before seeing Mockingjay. If you do that, you will definitely enjoy this well made dystopian series. If you get really ambitious, you should read the books as well. They are a quick read and very difficult to put down. Enjoy!
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