A cliffhanger end from “Catching Fire,” two teasers, and three trailers left fans anxiously anticipating the release of “Mockingjay Part 1,” the next movie in the Hunger Games trilogy. On opening weekend, “Mockingjay” claimed $273.8 million in box office sales, the largest debut of 2014. However, the film did not live up to expectations.
In the movie, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has escaped the Games, but she hasn’t yet defeated the Capitol. The movie explores the finer points of a war effort: propaganda, bombings and civilian uprisings. These create many subplots, but because of the splitting of the novel into two movies, “Mockingjay Part 1” has no main plot line.
Much of the film concerns Peeta’s (Josh Hutcherson) torture in the Capitol, and Katniss’s reaction to this, as well as her post-traumatic stress disorder from being flung into the games twice. Both actors are able to convincingly portray their characters despite the significant character development from children into adults over the last two films.
However, the movie did not have many action scenes. The first two Hunger Games movies revolved around action; Katniss’s fighting throughout the Games was the most interesting part of the series.
The tone is very dreary and somber, but a few comedic scenes prevented that bleakness from ruining the film. The director made the savvy choice to increase the role of Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) in the movie, who rarely shows up in the book. Removed from the comfort of her home, the flamboyant Capitol, and thrust into the militaristic District 13, Effie’s complaints about the uniforms and the absence of wigs bring levity to the film.
Despite the missing narrative, cutting the movie in half did have its benefits. With two movies, little to no scenes from the book were cut. The movie showed many scenes of rebellion in the districts that were not present in the original book, which pleasantly added to the war effort theme of the film.
Much of the movie revolves around Katniss’s endeavors to create war propaganda. Director Francis Lawrence began his career directing music videos and commercials. His experience in those fields made the propaganda videos shown in the film look stunningly impressive, and made an impact both on the civilian audience in the movie and the audience watching it. The film had futuristic special effects, which the director made evident through the technology in district 13. These effects allowed the propaganda to look realistic and powerful.
Looking at the franchise as a whole, the first and second Hunger Games movies both had something in common: the games themselves. “Mockingjay” explores a new direction, while still remaining in the Hunger Games universe.
Overall, “Mockingjay Part 1” did a great job of staying true to the book as well as showing character development and a depiction of war, but the absence of action and plot made the film disappointing.
