Preface

• I’ve been saying for MONTHS that Mockingjay Part One, despite being a weak book link, could be the best Hunger Games film.
  • Not to mention it was one of my most anticipated fall movies.
• So was it the best Hunger Games film?
  • But it was a REALLY cool blend of Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Empire Strikes Back, all with Hunger Games characters for extra enjoyment.

Cast and Characters

• So by this point you guys know how I feel about J-Law.
  • Women Crush Everyday.
  • She’s awesome.
  • ‘Nuff said.
• I feel like this Hunger Games movie doesn’t show as much of many other characters (more on that later) but does do a great job of focusing on Katniss.
  • Catching Fire was AWESOME, but it had so much ground to cover in such little time, that it zoomed through all character development.
  • Right from the raw open of Mockingjay Part One, you could tell this would be a Katniss heavy movie, and it really did expand and develop her character.
  • J-Law gives her best performance of Katniss thus far, keeping her just as likable and making her even more awesome.
• That having been said, I don’t feel like any other characters were two important in this movie.
  • I’m gonna say ‘Spoiler Alert’ so any tween girls out there don’t have their hearts ripped out, but it’s not really a spoiler.
    • Josh Hutcherson is in MAYBE four scenes of this movie, and they’re all a minute max.
    • He was really cool looking at the end (no spoiler there), but throughout I thought he was only there cuz his contract said he needed to be.
  • Same deal with President Coin, who I thought was a really neat character, despite having little time to reveal much of her backstory, motivation, or character at all.
  • A friend of mine actually put this best:
    • Haymitch is the prime example of the phenomenon because he literally just showed up for two/three scenes for two lines, and then snuck back into the shadows before his next scene.
  • I do think this was an extremely strong Katniss movie though, and proved to be her story as opposed to any other character’s.

Setting

• I never talk a great deal about the setting(s) in these reviews, but this setting was really cool.
• In the Hunger Games movies I never felt like it took place 1000 years from now, which is where it’s supposed to take place.
  • I always got the impression it was, like, 2050 or something.
• But in this movie, I felt the dystopia and knew we were in the year 3000-ish.
• That’s something I commend the movie for, and ultimately have to say provided some fantastically beautiful shots of the Districts.

Script/Story

• Some people have complained that this movie is too boring, has no action, and is a snooze-fest.
• I’ve had a long week.
  • A REALLY long week.
  • And I was exhausted watching this on a Friday night from 7-9 p.m.
  • Even though my eyes were tired, they were fixed on the scree the entire time because I didn’t want to miss a single moment.
• This film isn’t a game-based scenario anymore, it’s a real focus on governments and political propaganda, which I loved.
• The whole script didn’t really build to anything though. There’s this mission of sorts that’s going on at the end, but you never feel like that’s what’s being lead to, it just feels like another part of the movie.
  • When the climax feels not climactic enough, that’s a problem.
• There was also some really misplaced humor in this movie that didn’t fit at all.
  • The first 15-20 minutes were a real dark toned political film, but then this awkward humor was brought in and didn’t really fit the product.
• And, OH MY GOD!
  • THE. STUPID. TEEN. LOVE. TRIANGLE. CRAP.
  • This movie was standing at a 5/5 after a solid open, and went down to a 4.5/5 in my eyes when she kissed Gale.
    • Spoiler Alert.
      • Do you care?
    • I was actually thinking during this how much more sense it would make if Gale was originally written as her twin brother.
      • Not everything needs a love story, especially this deep and seriously into the game.

Conclusion

• So in conclusion, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One was a complete mixed bag for me, but did tie together a lot of really neat elements from the last Harry Potter and The Empire Strikes Back.
• I think that the Katniss focus and overall story were really compelling, but the film did lack support from the dialogue, character development and specified writing.
• At the end of the day, I did have a really good time with this movie and place it behind Catching Fire for best, and ahead of the original Hunger Games for worst in the franchise.

3.5/5

• I also plan on doing a short Spoiler Talk on this movie, so look for that in the next few days.

***

So guys, those are my thoughts on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One! What were your thoughts? Let me know down below, and as always, thanks for reading guys.