The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore
Rated M for mature themes and violence
THOUGH not the best film in the Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay: Part 1 is still a compelling, hardhitting entry that lays sturdy foundations for part two.
In the dystopian future nation of Panem, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has become the icon of the resistance, and strikes back at the oppressive Capitol using words rather than violence.
The performances are excellent all-round, especially from Lawrence, whose indomitable yet shell-shocked persona dominates the screen. The stark bunker aesthetic of District 13 is a welcome change from the previous films’ painful colour overload, and the shocking action scenes are all the more powerful for their scarcity.
Catching Fire is more suspenseful for its bloodsport spectacle and Katniss still being under the thumb of President Snow (Donald Sutherland), but Mockingjay is still a smart film primarily about propaganda. The subtler-than-usual social commentary forms the film’s engaging backbone, as the District 13 producers coach Katniss in acting and make videos to encourage the other districts into rebellion.
Mockingjay also finally does something worthwhile with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). In the first two films he was the blandest, most ineffectual milksop in the whole franchise, but now Peeta projects disquieting inner torment and brainwashing as the Capitol’s prisoner in their own propaganda videos.
A very solid sci-fi drama featuring many improvements to the Hunger Games formula, Mockingjay: Part 1 bodes well for the final chapter.
