While the splitting of the final novel in the Harry Potter film series was more than justified by the adaptations that followed, it also gave these major Hollywood studios another idea of how to milk any franchise for all its worth, thus resulting in few unnecessary expansions of final chapters of many other franchises into two films & The Hunger Games series is the latest to join this particular league.
While I wasn't completely won over by the first two films in this franchise & watched them with half-hearted interest, the films weren't as terrible as I expected. Both instalments did make up for some nice lightweight entertainment & fabulously exhibited the screen power of Jennifer Lawrence but the only reason why The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 exists is to set up the stage for the upcoming finale.
Set after the events of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Mockingjay - Part 1 continues the story of Katniss Everdeen who finds herself in District 13 after being rescued from the 75th Hunger Games arena which she destroyed in the last chapter. Very much aware of the mass riots that has risen against the Capitol, Everdeen reluctantly agrees to become the symbol of rebellion in order to unite all districts against one enemy & also tries to rescue Peeta from his captivity.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, Mockingjay - Part 1 lacks many elements that made the first two instalments click so well. The action is very much missing here, the story feels longer than its actual runtime, nothing much happens in the movie plot-wise & it's pretty evident that the idea of splitting it into two parts was indeed a stupid move. Jennifer Lawrence still delivers another fine performance while the contribution from both Julianne Moore & Philip Seymour Hoffman is a welcome one.
On an overall scale, there isn't much to talk about The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 for it's a definite downgrade in almost all aspects when compared to its predecessors, carries over the usual political themes of the series but never does anything with it, is predictable from start to finish, is stretched beyond its threshold point & even has Lawrence exhibiting signs of weariness in her given role. Easily the weakest of the three instalments so far, Mockingjay - Part 1 may not be a worthy sequel but it nonetheless succeeds in setting the stage for the grand finale.
