Director: Francis Lawrence Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Woody Harrelson Screenwriters: Peter Craig, Danny Strong | 4/5 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 While I will never say that the greedy trend of separating final installments into two parts is a good idea, I must admit that Mockingjay - Part 1 is more or less a great movie. Last year, Francis Lawrence took over the franchise from Gary Ross and gave us Catching Fire, a tremendous movie of soaring action and emotion. With the first installment of Mockingjay, Lawrence pulls back the action and ups the emotion - something that these YA franchises seem to be wary of doing. Mockingjay picks up soon after Catching Fire ends, when Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), Beetee (Boardwalk Empire’s Jeffrey Wright), and Finnick (Sam Claflin) are rescued from the Quarter Quell. Now in a mysterious bunker in the supposedly-destroyed District 13, Katniss quickly becomes wrapped up in a rebel army wishing to overthrow the evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland with a delightful sneer) and reinstate Democracy. Leading the rebel force is President Coin (a mysteriously cool Julianne Moore) and her image consultant/ex-gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee (the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman). There are two basic points to be made about Part 1. First is Katniss’ transformation into the mockingjay, a physical symbol of the rebellion. Heavensbee hopes to do this via propaganda videos that show Katniss rallying the masses in her cause. Anyone who knows Suzanne Collin’s character knows how out of place Katniss becomes when told to stand upright and recite lines. As you can imagine, it is a massive failure. Hoping to get more convincing footage, they send Katniss out to the front lines with a camera crew. The second point concerns the rescue of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) from the hands of Snow, who has seemingly brainwashed the poor guy. Both points require little action and lots of character building. Thankfully, Lawrence (the director) takes the road less traveled and gives us scene after scene of good ole fashioned character development. Considering the fact that most of the movie takes place in a dank bunker and that there is no actual Hunger Games this time around, you can imagine that there is a great many dialogue-centric scenes. While teenyboppers may be “totes bummed” there are not more explosions and whizzing arrows, the intimate character scenes ultimately make this movie more substantial and lasting than its lesser dystopian comrades - yeah, I’m looking at you Divergent. If you noticed in the second paragraph, this cast is bursting forth with grade-A talent. From holdovers like Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks to new faces like Julianne Moore and Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones' Margaery). Seymour Hoffman, who the film is dedicated to, digs deep into a supporting role that most film’s would have forgotten and reminds us all why we needed him so much. Gluing this eclectic bunch together, once again, is the ever-reliable Jennifer Lawrence. She commands the screen nearly the whole time without ever losing sight of the complex, emotional center. The actress knows how to tap in to that juicy place right on the edge of overacting that these pulpy crying/yelling roles require to pull off convincingly. In perhaps the story’s greatest twist, we soon realize that Coin and her democracy are about as shady as everything else in Panem. I say that here to emphasize how well Lawrence (the actress) handles this jolting character revelation. Bravo to all involved. While Mockingjay - Part 1 is an effective movie, it is impossible to ignore just how unnecessary is. Sure, Francis Lawrence briefly examines the absurdity of wartime propaganda and the overreaching effects of media, but is that really what this divided finale is about? Sociological examinations? Think again, folks. It’s all about that money, money, money. |
"Mockingjay - Part 1" dials down the action in exchange for some juicy character development.11/22/2014
1 Comment
Alyssa Ashley
11/24/2014 07:04:28 am
I hate it when they break the last movie up in two parts. With that being said the haunting ending was really cool, especially for the people who didn't read the books and don't know what to expect.
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