Review of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) by Bradley W — 01 Dec 2015

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay â" Part 1 does end up feeling life half of a film, but its different direction and cool political thrills were just too hard to not enjoy. The story again follows Katniss Everdeen; having twice survived the Hunger Games, Katniss finds herself in District 13.

Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss reluctantly becomes the symbol of a mass rebellion against the Capitol and fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage.

Now as a fan of the film series, I must admit I have yet to read the trilogy of books. But from the word of mouth I have heard that third and final book was easily the weakest. So going into this I was skeptical if it could live up to its predecessors, and I was happy to see that it did.

Yes, the hunger games are over and the child murder is no more. But instead we are treated to a deep political thriller that challenges us to pay attention to its real life themes of corruption and ruin.

Jennifer Lawrence once again owns the role of Katniss, choosing a dark, grounded, non-glamorous take on the character. Director Francis Lawrence proved with Catching Fire that he was exactly the man to take over the franchise, with his darker and more sophisticated direction turning this into a franchise that must be watched.

There is a lot of buildup and tension going around in this film, which will likely lead into a very epic finale.