The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

This is not the mediocre first two movies that were a fun-filled joy ride in the spirit of Running Man, Battle Royale or Blood of Heroes. This is a realistic version instead, with a character-motive driven plot. Unlike the first two films this one actually matters. I hope the creators of this film are proud of their accomplishment. Instead of a cheesy thrill ride we have been introduced to the realities of war and rebellion and we were given good acting, good screen writing and characters we can identify with and care about. After watching hundreds of movies in the post apocalyptic genre this one stands out as significantly better than the others, especially the first two films. Thank you for making the Hunger Games series into something meaningful.

After the bombing of District 13, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finally accepts the request of President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and her adviser Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and becomes the symbol of the rebellion, the Mockingjay. However, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in the Capitol broadcasts a message of Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) live contradicting Katniss. She believes that his life is in danger and convinces President Coin to rescue Peeta and the others Victors. But she has a surprise with his reaction.

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" is a disappointing movie too long for a short story with a lead character hysterical and too sentimental. In the other two movies, the plot was tense and full of action. Katniss is irritating with her reactions and despite the destruction of the Districts by Snow's army, her major concern is with Peeta. Prim's attitude leaving the bunker to save her cat is ridiculous and why Peeta's broadcasting is live is hard to understand. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Jogos Vorazes: A Esperança - Parte 1" ("Hunger Games: The Hope - Part 1")

I have only ever read the first hunger games book, and I have no idea how much the other movies are accurate to the books. But I feel like MockingJay should have been one 3 hour movie or even less, they might have wanted to make the story more clear, or Suzanne Collins/ the book author wanted to make it into two, or the most likely --- CASH --- I don't care actually, I'm here to watch (enjoy) the movie(s) not read why these decisions were made. And waiting a full year to release the next part made it sort of necessary to rewatch it..

It simply feels like you watched the trailer for the second part, filler. Or to make a dramatic opening to the second movie. MockingJay could have easily be one movie. The first one could have been an hour and the second one two hours (both can be less).

There is nothing really special I can remember like there is in the other movies. Even back when I was a HUGE Hunger Games fan..!

This movie is even skippable if you want to do a marathon or just watch them again! It's like nothing remarkable happens.

But yet again we were used to half of the film in the arena, this just showed the other side of the dystopia, --- (would have been WAY WAY WAY better if it was one movie) --- I think this almost everyone's least favorite hunger games movie.. still stuck between that 6/10 and 7/10...

The Hunger Games story continues with the third installation, Mockingjay. And it's about as padded and needlessly long as every other two-parter we've had since the studio executives came up with this money-grabbing monstrosity of an idea.

Not to say you shouldn't see this one if you've liked the previous Hunger Games films. This continues the story just fine. Jennifer Lawrence still shines as Katniss Everdeen. Her presence and talent hold us through even through scenes you instantly recognize as needless padding and waste of our money. The returning cast is also as talented as they've always been and most of the new characters are also casted without hitches. Julianne Moore is perhaps a bit too... Julianne Moore to play President Coin 100 percent convincingly, but she has certain presence as well, that cannot be denied.

What bugs me is the story. The book itself was the weakest of the trilogy, though not by much, and it seems that its faults bleed into the film. Especially because the iron tight pace of the previous installations is thrown straight out of the window and we spent most of our time building up atmosphere. And building. And building. And... You get the point. There's very little bang for your buck here and even when something substantial happens, it simply lacks that edge.

Plus, they had the perfect closing scene, and for some reason they decided to keep going for about five minutes. Trust me, you know where they should have ended it when you've seen the movie.

This is a good movie. It still looks great, the main actors are brilliant and it has enough depth to impress through its story alone. I just wish they had had the integrity to go with one movie. It very well might have been the best Hunger Games movie of the three. It would have had two movies before it to build up momentum and steam. Instead it lifts up the pedal from the gas and decides to stroll over the finish line. Poor form, extremely poor form.

I really appreciate the way this series grows from the first entry, and the story in these final two films (I've watched the second part at the time of this review) is actually quite fantastic and bold. It's the execution that's lacking. The film is slow, too slow, and repetitive, too repetitive. Gone is the kinetic energy and sense of urgency that was so prevalent in Catching Fire. The script here isn't balanced nearly as well. I get that the final book is plot heavy, but sacrifices are natural to adaptations. This feels stretched out.

Fortunately the film has a great cast, and pretty solid cinematography, even if it's less vibrant than before. The character work is mostly fun, Sad Gale actually does some stuff (but is still a very boring character of a very boring, tedious love triangle). The cast are all excellent of course and the exploration of using propaganda was a great direction for the franchise.

Still, it feels greedy splitting the film. It could have been a great, concise trilogy but instead people watching the first two will always have a slog ahead of them.