The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is the penultimate film in the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise. It follows the recent trend in Hollywood, where a studio will take the last book of a profitable series, and break it up into two films to milk every ounce of revenue possible. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows also got the lucrative separation treatment into two parts. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was divided into a trilogy. The difference between these books and Suzanne Collins Mockingjay is vast. Those books were gargantuan, deeply plotted, highly intricate novels. Mockingjay is a 448 page young adult story that doesn’t nearly touch the mastery of Tolkien or Rowling. The resulting film adaptation suffers greatly because of this. Lionsgate and Director Francis Lawrence have taken thirty minutes of plot, then stretched it out like taffy into an insufferable two hours. Mockingjay Part 1 is a hideously boring, bleak film that plods along and leaves the audience snoozing.
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The film opens with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) waking up in the subterranean hospital of District 13. It seems the fabled District 13 has survived for decades underground in secret. Amassing weaponry and soldiers for the inevitable conflict with The Capitol for control of Panem. Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) have convinced President Coin (Julianne Moore), the leader of District 13, that Katniss is the perfect symbol to rally the remaining districts. They dub her “The Mockingjay” and embark on a propaganda mission. Katniss struggles with this role as a revolutionary icon. But is even more horrified when the evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland) trots out a brainwashed Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) as The Capitol’s response. He begs Katniss to surrender and to stop inciting the flames of war.
Mockingjay Part 1 lacks entertainment value. It portrays the propaganda battle between the warring factions as stale and muted. The previous Hunger Games films were exciting and dynamic. This installment is akin to watching a particularly depressing newscast. There’s no energy or real character interaction. I chalk this up squarely to the two film finale. There’s just not enough good meat on the bone to tell this story in two parts. Lawrence, a gifted actress, is relegated to sobs, pouts, and a minor action scene. There’s nothing of the fiery heroine that made the first two films so engaging.
The production design and cinematography is poor here. The previous films did a great job juxtaposing the decadence of The Capitol with the abject poverty in the districts. Mockingjay Part 1, being primarily set underground and in the ruined districts, has no cinematic appeal. Let me be clear, the destruction, chaos, and underground existence is not meant to be glamorous or vibrant. It just didn’t have to be so uninteresting to see. Other films, like The Matrix, District 9, or Children of Men, show that desolation can be visualized in an artistic way. This is sadly lacking here and subtracts greatly from Mockingjay Part 1.
A colleague of mine remarked that Mockingjay Part 1 may be the most depressing film to make a billion dollars. That’s a very apt description. The legion of Hunger Games fans deserve a better ending. I sincerely hope Part 2 will be so stunning, it will make up for the massive disappointment here.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is out November 19, 2014.
