Following in the footsteps of the ticket-sales boosting geniuses that did the Harry Potter movies, the last book of The Hunger Games trilogy has been split into two movies. Despite the fact that it kind of disqualifies it from being a trilogy now that there will be four movies in total, it's a very smart movie business wise. Story wise, it may not be, though.
Mockingjay, Part 1 was a vastly different movie than the last two. This isn't necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, but if you're walking into it to get more of the same, you'll be disappointing. The biggest difference is that there is no hunger games at all. No tributes, no teens killing each other on tv, no crazy monkeys or hallucinogenic wasps. Instead, Mockingjay, Part 1 is more of a political thriller that seemed to me like a Bourne movie made for the YA audience. There is political posturing, intrigue, and lots of dull gray scenery.
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It was also missing a lot of the emotion of the past two. I remembered feeling nervous and disenfranchised watching the Reaping scenes in the first movie, and completely betrayed when President Snow decided to make the Quarterquell a victors-only event. Mockingjay just left me wondering what the food in that weird cafeteria tasted like. Sure, we get to see a pit of charred bodies where District 12 used to be, but it falls flat. Anyone who has seen a movie in the past 20 years has seen gore beyond belief, and that failed to elicit any kind of strong emotion. All of the people we care about in the story are safe, which takes away from the emotionally tense moments in the first two movies. Except Peeta, that is. But I'll get to him in a minute.
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The movie does have it's exciting parts. Perhaps the most engaging part of the movie is the rescue mission part, where a team of District 13 operatives are able to infiltrate the Capitol after the power has been knocked out by a dam explosion. We are treated to an incredibly tense rotation of scenes: Finnick revealing disgusting truths about President Snow in a pit of rubble, Beetee doing some hardcore hacking to keep the Capitol unaware of their intrusion, Gale, et al attempting to rescue Peeta and others, and the tensest Skype session in history between Katniss and Snow. The whole ordeal really grabs your attention.
Peeta is a real piece of work in Mockingjay, Part 1. Throughout the movie we see him used as the Capitol's spokesman, urging the common folk not to revolt at every turn. We see him get more and more haggard as the two sides bash each other with propaganda (and occasionally missiles). While it generates the same "I'm very emotional right now" face from Katniss every time he comes on screen, it is interesting to watch his character degrade more and more. When he and Katniss are finally reunited we are treated to some intense action as Peeta tries to kill Katniss, having been brainwashed by the Capitol into hating her. If you caught those leaked pics of J Law and are into BDSM you'll especially enjoy this part of the movie.
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All in all Mockingjay, Part 1 was an enjoyable movie, even if it's an abrupt change of pace from its predecessors and can be a little boring at times. It feels more grown up than the first two films and it definitely left me wondering what the second part will be like. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to longtime fans of the series as well as laypersons alike. 8/10 actresses wayyyyy hotter than Megan Fox, go see it if you haven't already!
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