Film review: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part One (12A)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One (12A) review

If you’re a fan of the series or not, one thing is clear after watching Mockingjay Part One: Forget what you thought you knew about the Hunger Games.

The first two films, which I very much enjoyed, had a similar structure without being carbon copies of each other.

Without wishing to spoil the first two slices of the big screen adaptation of the Suzanne Collins books, Mockingjay moves away from the tried-and-tested formula of pre-Hunger Games hype, Hunger Games carnage and post-Hunger Games reaction.

Indeed, it’s not even about the Hunger Games, if that makes any sense.

That’s right. After two similar, albeit excellent, warm-up outings, we’re now very much into the main event when it comes to the story Collins was actually trying to tell in her books.

As ever, we see most of the film through the eyes of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). Again, without wishing to spoil, Katniss is pretty much broken after the events of Catching Fire.

That’s not good news for the rebellion, who are expecting her to be the face of their propaganda campaign against the Nazi-like Capital.

Still, with a bit of encouragement from Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), Primrose (Willow Shields) and series debutant President Coin (the ever-impressive Julianne Moore), she soon takes her place as their ‘Mockingjay’.

We get our first look at the secret District 13 here, a place briefly referred to as being ‘wiped off the face of the earth’ in the first two films.

The huge underground base of the rebellion is a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the Capital – and the hatred towards President Snow’s (Donald Sutherland) dastardly regime is pretty evident.

They need a spark, though. Spending decades underground has sapped the people’s morale – and witnessing the extermination of some of the other districts hardly helps the mood.

And there we have it, the lines have been drawn for the age old battle of good versus evil (or the haves against have nots, if you will).

With the absence of an actual Hunger Games event – and the obvious fact that Mockingjay Part One serves as a build-up to Part Two – casual fans may not buy into the more leisurely pace on show here.

But I very much enjoyed the character building.

Lawrence, as always, is the star attraction. Katniss’ arc is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, especially with usual partner in crime Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) seemingly the new mouthpiece of the Capital.

Be it back at District 12 or inspiring the wounded in District 8, she’s very much the people’s champion – without every becoming the stereotypical teenage brat you’d expect from characters in young adult (YA) films (I’m looking at you, Twilight).

It was good to see Hemsworth’s (The Expendables 2) Gale get a bit more screen time too.

I’d grown a little tired of Peeta’s weedy existence in the first two films, so he’s a breath of fresh air alongside the always bad-ass Katniss.

The dynamic between Hoffman and Moore was also a highlight for me. Two fine actors playing strong, but ultimately very different roles is never a bad thing.

Moore’s Coin is the anti-Snow. She’s very much a people person and has the support of her district by way of respect, not fear. Hoffman is at his scene-stealing best too, in what is – tragically – one of his final films.

Sutherland, who plays a sinister evil bad guy just about as well as anyone, is reduced more to cameo scenes this time around. His exchanges with Katniss are as intense as ever – and he does a superb job of making you hate him.

But it’s clear that his time will come in Part Two, with the stage set for all-out war.

Mockingjay Part One does a superb job of getting you invested in the wider story in the Hunger Games universe and sends you away from the cinema wanting more. It achieves that without ever making you feel like you’re watching a filler, which was my main concern ahead of the trip to Boston’s West End Cinema.

Just like Katniss, it’s a series that is catching fire ahead of an explosive finale – and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

Rating: 4.5/5 (watched at West End Cinema, Boston)