"THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART I" (2014) Review

"THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART I" (2014) Review

The producers of "THE HUNGER GAMES" movie franchise decided to follow the examples of the "HARRY POTTER" and"TWILIGHT" franchises and divide its adaptation of the last novel in Suzanne Collins' literary series into two movies. The first of these two films is the recent "THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART I". 

Based upon the first half of Collins' 2010 novel, "THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART I" picks up a few days or so after the end of the second film, "THE HUNGER GAMES - CATCHING FIRE". After being rescued by her mentor Haymitch Abernathy and Head Gamemaker of the 75th Hunger Games Plutarch Heavensbee, Katniss Everdeen finds herself as a resident at the underground rebel facility hidden underneath the ruins of District 13. Fortunately, her sister Primrose Everdeen and mother Mrs. Everdeen had been rescued by her close friend Gale Hawthorne before President Coriolanus Snow had ordered the bombardment of their home, District 12. Unfortunately, Katniss learns that her other close friend and fellow District 12 tribute/victor Peeta Mallark, District 7 tribute/victor Johanna Mason and the wife of District 4 tribute Finnick Odair have all been captured by the Capitol and are now prisoners being tortured.

Both Heavensbee and leader of the rebellion Alma Coin want to use Katniss as a symbol of their rebellion. It seemed Katniss' actions in the 75th Games arena - helping District 3 tribute/victor Beetee Latier bring down the arena forcefield in the last movie - spark and riots against the Capitol. Katniss refuses to become the rebellion's suggestion, because they had left Peeta behind in the arena. But after visiting the ruined District 12 and seeing Peeta being used by the Capitol state television to end the rebellion, Katniss reluctantly changes her mind. She agrees to become the rebels' "Mockingjay" symbol on the condition that Peeta and the other captured victors will be rescued at the first opportunity and pardoned.

When I had first learned that the producers of "THE HUNGER GAMES" franchise had plans to divide the adaptation of Collins' last novel into two movies, I groaned with dismay. The last thing I wanted to experience was watching divided film adaptations of one novel. I have mixed feelings about how Warner Brothers and Summit Entertainment divided the adaptations of the last "Harry Potter' and "Twilight" novels respectively. And I feared that I would experience similar feelings with this divided adaptation of Collins' last novel, "Mockingjay". After all, I have been more than satisfied with the adaptations of the first two novels. I adored them.

I have no idea how I will feel about the franchise's last movie. Must I must say that I liked "MOCKINGJAY - PART I" very much. Well . . . actually, I enjoyed it as much as I did the first two films. And I did not expect that to happen. Unlike "THE HUNGER GAMES" and "CATCHING FIRE", "MOCKINGJAY - PART I" did not focus upon a Hunger Games competition in which tributes engage in a lethal survival struggle. Instead, "MOCKINGJAY" shifts into the very premise that was foreshadowed in "CATCHING FIRE" - a deadly civil war. This shift in premise was one of the reasons why I had doubts about this film in the first place. I see I had nothing to worry about. Collins' novel and screenwriters Danny Strong and Peter Craig did excellent jobs in conveying how the events of the first two chapters impacted the characters and the narrative of this last story - especially the actual outbreak of the rebellion, Katniss' role in that outbreak, her role as the rebellion's public face, her relationships with both Peeta and Gale, and Peeta's position as a prisoner of the Capitol. 

But there were two aspects of this movie that I found very interesting. First, I found it interesting that the willingness of both sides of the rebellion - the District 13 inhabitants under Alma Coin and Panem (the Capitol) under Coriolanus Snow - to use Katniss and Peeta for their respective causes. Coin and the rebellion exploits Katniss and the Mockingjay symbol via prepared speeches and televised visits to other rebellious districts. And Snow exploits Peeta to convince the public not to join the rebellion via televised interviews with Hunger Games master of ceremonies Caesar Flickerman. It is interesting how different political beliefs can merely end up as two sides of one coin, so to speak. Another interesting aspect of the movie . . . at least for me . . . proved to be Katniss Everdeen. I noticed how Katniss is described as some kind of heroine in many articles on the Internet. This image was certainly solidified in the District 8 sequence. But while watching the film, I found myself wondering if Katniss was on some kind of slow journey toward a nervous breakdown. Superficially, she seemed tough . . . sure of herself. But there also seemed to be minor hints of a breakdown, especially in the film's second half. 

Director Francis Lawrence and cinematographer Jo Willems continued their visual expansion of the world of Panem in"MOCKINGJAY - PART I". The movie featured scenes of both Districts 13 and 8, along with parts of the Capitol never seen in the first two films. I thought Willems did a solid job with his photography of the locations that stood for the two districts in rebellion. But if I must be honest, I do not recall any mind blowing scenes in the film - aside from the Capitol's bombing of District 8. Philip Messina's production designs did an excellent job in conveying the contrasting looks of the bombed out districts, the Capitol and Coin's headquarters beneath District 13's ruins. "MOCKINGJAY - PART I" proved to be the first film in the franchise that did not feature any over-the-top and memorable costumes designs, aside from the suit worn by Josh Hutcherson in his character's interviews and Katniss' Mockingjay battle outfit:





Otherwise, Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller's designs seemed more casual and utilitarian, especially for the costumes worn by the rebels led by Alma Coin. I suppose this was due to most of the story told from Katniss' point-of-view. And for once, she never visited the Capitol.

The performances were top-notch. Once again, Jennifer Lawrence knocked it out of the ballpark in her portrayal of "the Girl on Fire" Katniss Everdeen. Only in this film, Lawrence's Katniss seemed even more on edge, torn between her hatred of Coin and the Capitol, her wariness toward Alma Coin and her deep concern for Peeta's fate. Many have commented upon the District 8 scene in which Katniss openly expressed her anger over the bombing. But my favorite scene featured the moment in which Lawrence reminded audiences that Katniss is still an adolescent. I refer to the scene in which Katniss, which adolescent discomfort gives Coin and Heavensbee ultimatums in exchange for agreeing to be their "Mockingjay". Great Lawrence moment. Because his character spent most of the film as a prisoner, Josh Hutcherson had lesser screen time in this film. No matter. He still managed to give a great performance as the tortured and exploited Peeta, forced to act as the Capitol's mouthpiece. There were two moments in the film that truly displayed Hutcherson's talent. One featured Peeta's last interview in which he seemed to be struggling between cooperating with the Capitol and longing to express a warning to Katniss and the rebels. Anyone could see the extension of the abuse Peeta had suffered. The other moment was . . . well, that would be spoiling the film. All one has to do is watch Hutcherson's performance in the film's last ten to fifteen minutes. Liam Hemsworth's character, Gale Hawthorne, was expanded in this film. In fact, he had more scenes that Hutcherson. Which is good news, for the actor finally had a chance to display his skills as an actor. I was impressed by how Hemsworth conveyed Gale's struggles and failure to contain his jealousy of Katniss' relationship with Peeta. I thought he was more effective in displaying this aspect of Gale's character in this film than in the last two flicks. I was also impressed by Hemsworth's performance in a scene in which Gale recalls the destruction of District 12. 

I read somewhere that the Effie Trinket character did not appear until near the end of Collins' novel. Thankfully, Strong and Craig did not reduce her character in this film. And audiences got a chance to see Elizabeth Banks give another delightful and crowd pleasing performance as the publicist/chaperone. I especially enjoyed watching Banks convey Effie's dismay at the lack of fashion sense among the District 13 rebels and contempt toward Coin and Heavensbee's handling of Katniss. Woody Harrelson was equally entertaining as Katniss' alcoholic mentor, Haymitch Abernathy. Harrelson seemed to have less screen time in this film, due to his character being forced to undergo detoxication and being on the outs with Katniss. But Harrelson was colorful as ever. And I especially enjoyed his interactions with Banks. Donald Sutherland was creepy as ever in his portrayal of Panem's head-of-state, President Coriolanus Snow. One of the aspects of Sutherland's performance that I enjoyed so much is how he manages to effectively convey such subtle menace in his portrayal. This was especially in one scene in which Katniss made a personal plea to Snow to spare the lives of Peeta and the other prisoners. 

Jeffrey Wright returned as District 4 tribute/victor Beetee Latier. Although there was not much in his character development, Wright had one particularly interesting scene in which he skillfully conveyed Beetee's concerns over his use of technology to support an important military mission within the Capitol. Sam Claflin reprised his role as District 4 tribute/victor Finnick Odair and did an excellent job in portraying the character's emotional vulnerability regarding his concern for wife and fellow victor Annie Cresta. I was really by Claflin's performance in one scene in which Odair revealed his past experience in being forced into prostitution for his fans in the Capitol. Philip Seymour Hoffman returned as former Head Gamekeeper and the rebellion's publicist Plutarch Heavensbee. In some scenes, Hoffman seemed smooth as ever as the manipulative Heavensbee. But there were interesting moments in which the actor revealed Heavensbee's occasional bouts of fear and doubt. Paula Malcomson, Stanley Tucci and Willow Shields all returned to reprise their roles as Mrs. Everdeen, Caesar Flickerman and Primrose Everdeen. All gave solid performances, but I was especially impressed by Shields, who conveyed in increased maturity in her role. Mahershalalhashbaz Ali and Natalie Dormer joined the cast as Alma Coin's right hand man/Katniss' bodyguard Boggs and Capitol film diretor-turned-rebel Cressida. Both gave solid performances. But I was especially impressed by no-nonsense attitude conveyed by Ali. Julianne Moore also made her debut in the film franchise as leader of the rebellion, Alma Coin. In many ways, Moore's Coin seemed just as subtle and manipulative as Sutherland's President Snow. Moore was also effective in conveying Coin's somewhat cold-blooded pragmatism that strangely reminded me of Katniss.

Did I have any qualms about "THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART I"? Well . . . as much as I found Katniss' angry speech during her visit to District 8 rather stirring, I was also a little put off by it. I got the feeling that the screenwriters and Lawrence wanted to include a "macho/heroic moment" for Katniss, considering the minimum number of action scenes for the character in compare to the previous two films. I do not know if this scene was included in the novel. But it seemed a bit over-the-top to me. And there was the scene in which a rebel demolition team manages to blow up the dam providing the Capitol with electricity. There seemed to be a certain lack of reality in the rebels' attack upon the dam that did not seem right to me.

But as far as I am concerned, "THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART I" proved to be just as first-rate as the previous two films. It is already one of my favorite films of 2014. Francis Lawrence continued his marvelous job as the franchise's director. And I believe he was also damn lucky to work with a superb cast led by Jennifer Lawrence and utilize an excellent screenplay written Danny Strong and Peter Craig. I hope . . . and pray that the last entry in the film franchise will prove to be just as superb as the first three films.