A Lackluster Follow-up to a Promising Franchise

Rating: 5/10 (13 May 2020)

If Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2012) was an archetypal example of how to one-up an original movie and create an enthralling and captivating movie franchise, Mockingjay Part 1 is the all too typical way of crushing that excitement. What was shaping up to be a memorable franchise that would become logged in the public discourse and be mentioned in the same breath as Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia was unceremoniously extinguished by a completely lackluster third installment. Disappointing in many regards, it lacked so many of the things that made the first and, especially, the second movie so fun to watch. Whatever momentum the series had before this was lost in something that was simply a mediocre sequel.
What made Catching Fire so good? It was the intense and unique action in The Games that never let you relax for a moment. It was the reliance on heavy hitting talent in Jennifer Lawrence, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Donald Sutherland. It was the beautiful imagery of The Capital and the contrast to the bleak existence in the cities. It was the sense of fulfillment in seeing an oppressed society rise up against its oppressors. Most of this was lost, or at least made bland and boring in Mockingjay Part 1.
One of the most unfortunate critiques in this movie compared to the last is the fact that it is entirely generic and forgettable. It feels like you could plug this movie into almost any science fiction fight-against-the-man type of film series. Was this The Hunger Games or was it Maze Runner? Or was it Divergence? One could imagine a nearly identical course of events in almost any anti-establishment narrative. Clearly, the story couldn't just repeat the Hunger Games for a third time or it would become stale, but these are not the only things that make the world unique. You have the exorbitant extravagance of The Capital Citizens. There is the uniqueness of each of the 12 districts and how they interact with each other. There are the Gamemakers and their sleuthy, creative killing methods. All these things and more were forgotten in place of a plug-and-play rebel alliance story.
Another disappointment was the onscreen chemistry of the actors and the lack of use of some amazing actors. In Catching Fire, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Finnick (Sam Claflin) play a strong supporting role to Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), who puts in a masterful performance in being a broken, scared girl to growing up and accepting the challenge and becoming the heroic figure. Plutarch (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is an enigmatic wildcard with a sly smile who keeps us guessing. In Mockingjay Part 1, Lawrence gets very little time to shine. The intense action scenes which she does so well are few and far between. Hutcherson is rarely in scenes and when he is, his acting abilities are subdued. Hoffman is made to take a backseat as only a mere pawn in the grand scheme of things. And unfortunately, Julianne Moore (who plays President Alma Coin) put in a less than inspiring performance as the aspiring leader of a rebellious uprising.
Catching Fire gave us a sense of purpose as audience members, when we could cheer for the gradual uprising in the districts mirrored by Katniss' success in The Games, both her physical defeats of Capital sympathizing stand-ins from the first districts, and her emotional grapplings with killing and its repercussions. Once we are introduced to District 13 and the underground rebellious movement, headed by Alma Coin, it seems to lose its luster. This is no longer Poncho Villa versus the oligarchical dictatorship, it's the Allies versus the Axis, a feeling of an even playing field. Gone is that feeling of an underdog that's building up to something special, led by an unexpected hero. Instead we jump-cut to the point where the Districts have an established military system and a next-in-line dictator who doesn't seem to care much about her people. It's a fight without a face and heel, just machine against machine.
There is something that feels artificial about Katniss and her Mockingjay persona in this film. The film itself is almost a meta-critique of this. The Mockingjay is quite literally an artificial construct used by District 13 to inspire the rebellion. Katniss, however, wants to be genuine and passionate in the propaganda videos and has the opportunity to make grand speeches in the face of real crisis. However, even these moments of supposed truthfulness feel like a reenactment. This whole idea of having film cameras follow around Katniss, and especially the propaganda films they make, feel like something from a cheesy satirical comedy. It recalls images of "I'm doing my part!" from Starship Troopers (1997). Starships Troopers has the benefit of not taking itself too seriously, being purposefully lighthearted in contrast to the dark reality. Mockingjay Part 1, on the other hand, attempts to be only darkness, a bleak reality of war. Scenes with that comedic spin feels forced and out of place rather than tension breaking.
In the end, what we all wanted this movie to be, and what the studio needed it to be, was a setup to the inevitable conflict and resolution in the final movie that we all already knew was coming. The audience should be on the edge of their seat in anticipation for the finale after watching this film. However, that feeling is not something I expect many people would be left with. Having split the final book into two parts, the film is left with many voids of space compared to the first two films which were so jam packed with action and plot progression it almost felt rushed. It is a slog to get through this, and the final film can only hope to compensate in some ways.
Writing this review a few years after the movie was released, and looking back on it in retrospect, it seems unfortunate that the series has exited public consciousness for the most part. You never see Hunger Games themed toys at the store, and people don't usually bring it up in conversation. This pales in comparison to the extreme hype when the first film was released. Perhaps this is the natural progression of things, that a series should run its course and have its day in the sun. Not everything can last like certain stories. It is just disappointing to know that something that started with so much promise will end with a whimper and not a bang.