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THE HUNGER GAMES franchise hit theaters with a bang a few years ago, becoming an instant box office hit along with being satisfying adaptations for fans of the books. Originally a trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins, Lionsgate decided to do something that seems like a popular move with movie studios these days – they split the last book into two films. It means more money on ticket sales, and expands the franchise to last longer… it’s actually a rather smart move on their part, although arguably not a necessary one. HARRY POTTER did the same thing, which resulted in a talky and somewhat slow second-to-last chapter on the big screen, and an action-packed final film. THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 isn’t going to play out much different.
In the last film Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) was captured/rescued by District 13’s Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and reunited with Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Her gaming mate Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is still under the control of The Capitol and President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Katniss is introduced to District 13’s leader President Coin (Julianne Moore), who hopes to groom her as a propaganda tool encouraging other Districts to stand up and fight against President Snow and The Capitol’s armies. Meanwhile Snow is using Peeta, to the surprise of Katniss, to spread The Capitol’s message and go against the rebels’ motivations. All of this back and forth is leading up to an inevitable civil war… but you’ll have to wait until PART 2 to see that.
The biggest complaint MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 has received so far is how slow and talky it is, and the lack of action and excitement the first two films had. The fans of the books have reacted strongly to these criticisms, stating this is how things played out in the novels, and that people are missing the point of what this story is about. I heard similar reactions when the final two HARRY POTTER films came out. The problem here not unlike the problem there is the same – despite being based on books, these are movies and should stand on their own as movies, and we shouldn’t have to read the books to “get it” or be entertained. I enjoyed the first two HUNGER GAMES films quite a bit, especially CATCHING FIRE, but this first half of MOCKINGJAY has left behind a lot of what made those first two films so great. It almost feels like a different franchise, a much darker and more bleak look at the characters we all know, and not the kind of film you’ll walk out of with a sense of enjoyment. In fact the biggest thing I noticed was the lack of reaction from the audience, something that used to be the norm for these films. Things like clapping, cheering, and audible enthusiasm from the crowd was noticeably absent here. There were no cheers at the end, no smiles on people’s faces, just folks walking out in a malaise. The film left people cold, and not in a good way.
We all know this is leading up to a big battle in the final chapter, but they couldn’t have given us a little more to react to in this one? The few action scenes that are present here are over almost as soon as they begin. There’s a great moment where Katniss takes down some Capitol bombers who are attacking an already-devastated District, but it’s really short and sweet. Another moment where rebels attack a heavily-fortified dam is more morbid than exciting. And there’s an evacuation scene where Katniss must go back to find her sister, but the reason her sister stayed behind is so silly it’s more frustrating than exciting. The film even fails to end at the right spot. There’s a great shocking moment at the end of the story which would have been the perfect place to cut to credits, but instead is continues to a more awkward point of the story before cutting to black.
The performances are for the most part okay, Jennifer Lawrence is almost always good and does the best she can with the material. This outing requires her to be much more somber with her acting, stepping back from the action. Her strong reading with the character is one of the saving graces in an otherwise monotonous film. Liam Hemsworth takes a bigger role in this story, and isn’t bad as the leading man, but just doesn’t possess the charm or gravitas his brother Chris has. I never felt invested in him as a character, and even a poignant scene about his District’s evacuation didn’t seem to hold the weight it should have, perhaps because of his performance. Julianne Moore is an interesting new character here, though also very subdued with her role. I wanted to see more passion with her, and perhaps that’s coming in the next outing. One of the bigger disappointments from the acting side is Philip Seymour Hoffman, who reads every line without emotion, as if he’s just giving minimal effort. Considering this is one of his final filmed performances, I was hoping for more. Josh Hutcherson is seen primarily on a TV screen delivering propaganda messages, but there is a sincerity with his portrayal of Peeta. Next to Lawrence, he is easily the strongest and smartest casting choice in this franchise. And Donald Sutherland is again great as the deliciously power-hungry President Snow, though some of his orders in this story seem a bit questionable. You wonder why those under him obey without question, when the looks on their face show they don’t agree with his strategies.
Francis Lawrence returns as director, and does a good job framing the story and events, but even he can’t make this more interesting than it is. The most impressive aspects of the production are in the special effects department. Things like hi-tech ships landing and dropping people off look incredibly real and convincing, causing someone like me (who knows a lot about that realm) to question just how they pulled it off. Digital backgrounds are seamless, and really transport us into this world. The score by James Newton Howard is terrific as well, and a song that’s repeated and sung by Katniss and others throughout the film becomes haunting and memorable. There are good qualities to MOCKINGJAY – PART 1, and it’s by no means a badly-made movie, it’s just not a strong entry in the franchise. My prediction is fans of the books will likely be forgiving of the shortcomings here, but moviegoers who want to be entertained will leave wanting more. Our only hope is the final chapter gives us just that.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
And you wonder why fans say that you. don’t. get it.
Critics calling for more action truly do not understand the message behind these films. Not everything is about EXPLOSIONS, BLOOD, FIGHTING, BOOM *eats popcorn*. The film series is, at its heart, a story about PTSD, depression, propaganda and the effects war has on people. Katniss is NOT superhero. She’s just a human who has gone through horrific events, witnessed her entire district get blown up and has had to kill people to survive. All at the age of 17. REALISTICALLY, how many people could go through all of that and get through it with a smile on their face? Katniss is clinically depressed, and rightly so–and for a YA book/film series to take on these major themes is incredible.
So forgive us when we get annoyed that critics give the film a bad review because there’s not enough “action”. If you came into this series wanting to see a lot of action scenes, you’re taking away the wrong message here and this film was obviously not made for you anyway.
Zack, I appreciate your response, but again this is a movie, and should be entertaining as a movie. And I do get what they were going for story-wise, it just doesn’t make for a good cinematic experience. Film critics are supposed to talk about movies for their entertainment value as it applies to ALL moviegoers, not a specific group of people. Also, if you read my review, you’ll notice I compliment certain aspects of the production – it’s not all complaints, but there are legitimate problems with this as a moviegoing experience. Incidentally, not all fans are loving it either. I’ve spoken to several hardcore fans of the books who admit it’s oddly paced and not as satisfying as they had hoped. The non-reactions throughout the film and at the ending was very telling too. So while you may be right in that it wasn’t necessarily made for me, the first two weren’t either and I rather enjoyed them. The real problem is telling someone who is bored and unimpressed with something that they “don’t get it” is a somewhat selfish statement born out of either denial or frustration at their feelings. Movies are subjective, not all people will like a movie you like, and not all people will hate a movie you hate. A film critic is meant to tell you what THEY thought of a cinematic experience, which is exactly what I did. You not agreeing with that assessment doesn’t make me wrong, nor does it make you right. It’s also possible that once you get some distance/time away from the film you may look back on it differently. It’s easy to be forgiving of something when you’re really close to it, but it’s harder to admit it when it doesn’t live up to expectations.
First of all, this is your opinion and I understand that you did not enjoy the film as much as you may have wanted, and I respect that. However, I need to ask–what were expecting here? From your review and your comment posted here, it sounds like you are missing the “games” of the previous two films, and as we know, the games were destroyed at the end of the last film. We also know from the previous two films that Katniss is a very emotional character, who is prone to panic attacks and is suffering PTSD. Katniss is not a superhero.
I think I know the problem you and some other critics of this film are having–you’re expecting the wrong story to be told here. This was never supposed to be an action film, but a mixture of political thriller and character study. And that’s what the film gave us. The messages in the film are the ones that the filmmakers had in mind as they were telling the story, and everyone I’ve asked (who haven’t read the books, mind you) were able to tell me afterword that it’s clear that The Hunger Games films were never really about the Hunger Games. And I don’t mean to come off as selfish, but I must say I have no idea why you would suggest that I am in denial or something. That is just plain rude. I said that you didn’t get the messages of the film because nowhere in your review did you ever say, “The message of the film is…” or “The political statement in the film is…”
Not every film has to have action in it to be exciting. There’s something tension, which this film has plenty of. But you didn’t mention that. You just rolled into the review, saying no action = no excitement, and that’s why I stick to my original statement. You’re taking away the wrong messages here and this film was not made for you. Good night!
Holy ****. Critics are just like the people in the capitol. Always wanting entertainment. These movies aren’t about entertainment they’re meant to make you FEEL and SEE a message. I like a quote that the director made where he said, “We were aiming for the truth.” This is what you get. How blind is society really? But with a movie criticizing the media industry I can see how it hits a couple of critics nerves. It’s basically giving you guys the finger. And that’s why I love these movies. Wake up and contribute more to society.
Zack, re-read what I wrote. I said the real problem is telling someone who is bored and unimpressed with something that they “don’t get it” is a somewhat selfish statement born out of either denial or frustration at their feelings. Your saying that could be the latter, so you’re only acknowledging one part of that sentence. And if I’m taking away the wrong message here, as you put it, then maybe the filmmakers did not accomplish what they intended after all.
Sam, insulting critics and saying things like I don’t contribute more to society is very bully-like of you. If you don’t agree with what I wrote, you can argue your points intelligently and in a sophisticated manner, or you can be a jerk about it. If you want me to take you seriously, being a jerk about it isn’t the way to go. And I never once considered this movie was criticizing the film critic community. It’s a satire of media in general, in a sense, but I don’t feel like it’s giving me the finger at all. And if your argument is that I don’t like it because it makes fun of media, that’s pretty weak. There’s a lot of great movies that poke fun at media, and a few that do specifically target critics, and some are quite great. As stated in the review, I did not like the film because I didn’t find it to be a satisfying cinematic experience. Movies, regardless of whether they are part of a larger story, should stand on their own as solid entertainment. If a single film doesn’t do that, then it may (fairly) be considered flawed.
Let me just say, as a fan of the books, which yes I did read, and started re-reading the final book before I watched, I knew this was going to be a boring movie. With three hour movies being the norm, I fell this could have all been done in one movie. Mark sorry you are taking heat for your review. You do have good points made. The movie for the most part is exactly like the book, however it doesn’t go in depth of the effects we see the games took on anyone except Katness. Finnick and Beetee are big parts in the book and hardly seen. Coin lacked emotion and so did Gale as in telling what happened to 12. You get more from the book. Now Mark, as for Primm going back for a silly reason, its her comment she said that should stick with you. Or the one Katness says while hunting. For us, to get a bigger picture how we have become selfish and self absorbed now and less caring of others. As for media, it shows how if you have control, you can spin the information to your advantage. I do agree, it should have ended the first time the screen went black, that would have made this alot more dramatic, but I guess the filmmakers wanted us to know why he did it. Overall, Zach and Sam, mark did say this to, the movie is good and worth seeing. Is it worth seeing more then once in the theater like Interstellar? For me and I assume Mark to, no. So don’t hate because you don’t agree, make your point, and make it good.
I’m a huge Hunger Games fan. This movie was boring. Book (my imagination), was better. Books are books and movies are movies, so arguing that the movie was true to the book and that is why the movie was what it was (boring), is a lame excuse. Mark, your review was spot on. If only more of us could be as intelligent as you are!
Michelle, thank you for the kind words. I think some people are letting their fandom cloud their judgement, but it’s nice to know you’re looking at it as objectively as you have. I’m hoping the final movie is an improvement, or at least recaptures the flare and quality of the first two.
Honestly, I was disappointed. After the first two films I had come to expect a certain amount of action and entertainment value, something to keep me captivated as a person in the audience. One of the things I like most about Katniss is how much of a badass she can be. The bow and arrow became purely decoration in this film. She fired one arrow in over 2 hours. When after two installments, you come to expect one thing from the franchise, delivering something very different is going to leave some people, not everyone, but some people disappointed.
At the end of the day, I left the last 2 films with a (strong) sense of ‘I can’t wait to watch the next one and see what happens next’, and I did not have that with this one. and I feel like getting that response from an audience member would be the goal of the filmmaker.