‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’ review
By Steven Cayer, Senior Columnist
4/5
The third instalment of the Hunger Games phenomenon is finally here with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. First off, I’m actually glad the final book has been divided into two movies. The movies now have a lot more room to seriously follow what Suzanne Collins wrote.
Warning: Spoilers are ahead for those who haven’t read or seen the past two instalments. If you haven’t, I seriously recommend jumping on this bandwagon.
Mockingjay Part 1 starts right where we left off in Catching Fire, with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) waking up in the secret underground base where district 13 was. It turns out the people who survived the bombings have been waiting for a window of opportunity to turn the tide of President Snow’s (Donald Sutherland) dictatorship. They want Katniss to be the face of the rebellion and the symbol of hope that’s needed to gather everybody. All she’s ever wanted was to save her sister, Primrose (Willow Shields), from participating in the Games and to keep Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) safe, which is more prevalent in this one.
This movie has a somewhat different approach to it, since there are no Games this time. Lawrence takes it in stride as she continues to be the beating heart of the franchise. You can really see her grow alongside her character as she becomes more important to the rebellion. She had a surprising number of emotional scenes that just stick with you.
Seeing as how this movie is based on a book, I find it difficult to blame it for being a little predictable. I think even if I hadn’t read the book, I would’ve known what was going to happen. On a side note, it was great seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman (who plays Plutarch Heavensbee) one last time.
This movie has a typical underdog story, but it’s in the original world of Panem, which makes it well-worth the visit.
