Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1

Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1
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 *Mild Spoilers Alert

Official 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1' Poster.

      The third outing of 'The Hunger Games' film franchise may be lacking in the action department; nevertheless, 'Mockingjay-Part 1' is a solid suspense that sets up perfectly the last installment.

"Jennifer Lawrence".

"Josh Hutcherson".

      In the aftermath of 'The Quarter Quell' events, 'Katniss Everdeen' is struggling with post-traumatic stress and the distraught that 'Peeta Mellark'(Josh Hutcherson) is a prisoner of the Capitol, alongside 'Johanna Mason'(Jenna Malone) and 'Annie Cresta'(Stef Dawson). 'Plutarch Heavensbee'(Philip Seymour Hoffman) and 'Haymitch Abernathy'(Woody Harrelson) rescued 'Katniss' and returned to 'District 13', hopes that she would join the rebels to stop the tyranny of 'President Coriolanus Snow'(Donald Sutherland) and become the face of the revolution. But facing her already traumatic problems and self-doubt is hindering 'Katniss''s decision to join in. With civil unrest and war looming in, District 13 leader 'President Alma Coin'(Julianne Moore) wants her to put aside these insecurities and look at the bigger picture, and in exchange to her becoming 'The Mockingjay', 'Coin' will try and release 'Peeta' and the prisoners as soon as possible. But 'Katniss' will soon learn that her decision will come with huge consequences and that 'President Snow' will try and destroy her life in order to maintain power. Other major characters include 'Gale Hawthorne'(Liam Hemsworth), 'Effie Trinket'(Elizabeth Banks), director 'Cressida'(Nathalie Dormer), 'Finnick Odair'(Sam Claflin), 'Coin''s right hand man 'Boggs'(Mahershala Ali), 'Caesar Flickerman'(Stanley Tucci), 'Primrose Everdeen'(Willow Shields), 'Beetee Latier'(Jeffrey Wright), 'Ms. Everdeen'(Paula Malcomson), and 'Cressida''s assistants: 'Messela'(Evan Ross), 'Castor'(Wes Chatman) and 'Pullox'(Eldon Hanson).

"Philip Seymour Hoffman"
and "Julianne Moore".

"Liam Hemsworth".

      Ever since the fantastic success of 'The Hunger Games', and with the growing fame of its cast specifically "Jennifer Lawrence", this YA franchise has been on a huge roll critically and financially. So the decision to split the third and final book into two parts was a given, seeing the trend that other similar franchises took to increase the revenues of the studio. 'Mockingjay-Part 1' will be a sort of a disappointment for those who thoroughly enjoyed the first two outings, where emotional and plot development was accompanied with heavy and exciting action sequences. This installment tones down the action sequences, that are still present but in much smaller scale and importance. The main objective of 'Mockingjay-Part 1' was to set up what is expected to be an over-the-top finale confrontation between 'Katniss' and 'President Snow', whilst allowing the plot to develop alongside its main and supporting characters. Therefore, making this film heavy in terms of emotions and psychological elements, introduced us in this political outing to a suspense factor that very much worked seeing the type of movie. And according to many who read the book, the movie actually improves upon the many parts that the movie tackles from the book.

"Woody Harrelson".

"Elizabeth Banks".

      "Francis Lawrence"('I Am Legend' and 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire') boldly and creatively is able to take the movie up to the next level. Looking at the universe this franchise has created, "Francis" was able to massively expand the scope of the world from the first movie to the second one, but in the third, this expansion continues to grow in a very attractive manner. The director doesn’t shy away to show the audience the darkness and unfairness that wars and social propaganda can produce. "Danny Strong"('Lee Daniel's The Butler') and "Peter Craig"('The Town') were tasked to divide the last book, knowing that this third installment will fall in the middle. Seeing the problems that similar franchises had, the writers did an amazing job crafting a well melodrama-political-suspense movie, while not being afraid to improve upon the book by adding elements and also choosing rightly what to remove. The people working on the production design, costume and special effects must be commended to the exquisite work that was performed. Composer "James Newton Howard"('Maleficent') continues to provide a special score that allows the movie to be defined and put its mark on pop culture.

"Donald Sutherland".

"Jennifer Lawrence" and
"Julianne Moore,

      Many knew that 'The Games' after 'Catching Fire' will cease to exist and many were afraid of how the first part of 'the Mockingjay' would pursue this transition. And in terms of story-telling, the story of 'Mockingjay' is in itself a symbol of 'The Games' done in real life. What is exciting about the movie is that it removes the aspect of the story being told from 'Katniss''s point of view, and actually allowing us audiences to look at certain aspects the book does not particularly mention in detail. From District 7 attacking the troops in the forest, to District 5 destroying the hydroelectric dam, showing us 'President Coin' in action during the attacks and actually witnessing the rescue attack as it is being done, these are all scenes that exponentially added value, thrill and excitement to the entire movie. And seeing the strength of the entire cast, the emotional development and weight weren't unnoticed and never felt awkward or unnecessary. My favorite scene was that of 'Katniss' singing 'The Hanging Tree', which will surely become one of the highlight moments of this franchise. The ending of the movie was disappointing since as fans we will have to wait an entire year to witness the final chapter.

"Wes Chatman" and
"Nathalie Dormer".

"Liam Hemsworth", "Mahershala Ali',
"Jennifer Lawrence" and
"Eldon Hanson".

       No one can argue that without the presence of "Jennifer Lawrence" as 'Katniss Everdeen', 'The Hunger Games' franchise wouldn't have been successful. Other than the appeal of the actress and the increasing fame that allowed box office success, her portrayal of the character is such a refreshing and invigorating experience as fans and as audiences. "Lawrence" perfectly portrays the inner conflict that her character is facing, which resonates due to it resemblance to what we as humans might feel if put in such circumstances. The blend of power and vulnerability that she brings is astonishing, making us believes in what is going on. "Josh Hutcherson" this time around gives a much stronger performance, putting forth the pain that he is enduring. Same goes to "Liam Hemsworth",who is also given more this time around, making him more of an integral player. And the way they dealt with the whole love triangle between these characters was impressive. "Donald Sutherland" again enforces the evilness in his character and makes him a strong foe. "Woody Harrelson" unfortunately is given less to go this time around but is still exciting to watch. Increasing 'Effie''s involvement in 'Mockingjay' was one of the positive points allowing us to watch "Elizabeth Banks"'s genius portrayal. "Stanley Tucci" impresses seeing his limited input this time around.

"Jeffrey Wright".

"Evan Ross".

      Seeing that these movies are the last of "Philip Seymour Hoffman"'s work after his tragic death is nostalgic. But as all his previous work, the involvement of "Philip" elevates the entire work. To see his effortless ability to evolve 'Plutarch' from 'Catching Fire' to this one was noticeable and thrilling, making his death even sadder. "Julianne Moore"'s casting as 'President Coin' was spot on, being able to strongly depict the struggle her character had. Whenever she is present, the chemistry she is able to establish with any other actor/actress within the character she is portraying was amusing to watch. "Nathalie Dormer" portrayed a favorable portrayal of 'Cressida', a character that could have been easily reduced to a cliché. "Sam Claflin" also improved upon the development of 'Finnick' from 'CatchingFire', successfully fleshing a non-existing onscreen relationship with "Stef Dawson", who plays 'Finnick''s lover. "Jenna Malone" had a breif appearance, while "Mahershala Ali" provides an exciting performance as 'Boggs', 'Coin''s right hand. Returning actors "Willow Shields", "Jeffrey Wright", "Paula Malcomson" and newcomers "Evan Ross", "Wes Chatman" and "Eldon Hanson", all provide solid and integral performances.

      'Mockingjay-Part 1' will be a mixed bag for many, but as part of a franchise its role is vital to set up to what is going to be an amazing penultimate entry to this outstanding franchise.

Official 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1' Poster.

-'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1' Info:

-Based on: 'Mockingjay' by Suzanne Collins.
-Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Jeffrey Wright, Nathalie Dormer, Sam Claflin, Jenna Malone, Mahershala Ali, Willow Shields, Evan Ross, Wes Chatman, Eldon Hanson, Paula Malcomson and Stanley Tucci.
-Studio(s): Lionsgate and Color Force.
-Directed by: Francis Lawrence.
-Screenplay by: Danny Strong and Peter Craig.
-Music by: James Newton Howard.
-Running Time: 123 minutes.
-Budget: $ 125,000,000.
-Box Office: -Domestic(US): $ 336,115,000.
                   -Foreign: $ 393,182,000.
-Ratings: -IMdb: 7.3/10.
              -Rotten Tomatoes: 66%.
              -Metacritic: 64%.

              -PERSONAL RATING: 8.4/10.

-'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1' Trailer: