Less action, more maneuvering, still quite good

Rating: 8/10 (23 November 2014)

The third Hunger Games movie isn't quite like the first two. There are no Games, for one thing. For another, there's nowhere near the amount of action, as the tale focuses much more on the political machinations between the Capitol and the fabled District 13. And yet director Francis Lawrence does a fine job of presenting a gripping story that, like its predecessors, brings the heart-wrenching pain dappled with grand fire and brimstone. It's a rare 'tweener movie that can stand on its own, too.
Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), you've just blown a hole through the Hunger Games. Whaddya gonna do now? Hop on over to District 13, apparently, which is the home of those who are darn well fed up with the crazy shenanigans of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in the Capitol. Katniss quickly learns that her fellow Games winner, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is alive and well, sort of, doing propaganda interviews with Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) in an attempt to get the rebel scum to lay down their weapons. Katniss, appalled at Snow's use of Peeta and at the destruction that the Capitol's military military has wrought, decides to become the Mockingjay, a true symbol around which the downtrodden, beaten-down residents of the not-well-off districts can rally.
District 13 is run by President Coin (Julianne Moore), who's every bit as intelligent, strong, creative, and resourceful as you'd suspect Julianne Moore to be in real life. She's convinced by former gamesmaster Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) that Katniss should be welcomed into the district and become the new face of the rebellion. This, naturally, leads to Snow's use of Peeta as more of a personal propaganda weapon aimed at Katniss herself. But who's zoomin' whom? Peeta seems awfully convincing when he tells everyone to lay down their weapons and surrender. It's no wonder that the rebels see him as a tool of The Man and are out for his blood, right? With no games to carry the bulk of the movie, the run time is a little shorter (by about 20 minutes), but that doesn't mean there's no fighting going on. Katniss and her former boyfriend – or is it also future? – Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) are armed with a bow and a Big Gun, respectively, in defense of District 13. We may not get to see hand-to-hand combat, but at least we're not seeing children kill each other. In fact, this entry in the series features far fewer on-screen deaths. But rest easy, there are plenty of harrowing moments, because when one side has a metric ton of big weapons and you do not, you're likely to get stomped on a little bit.
The decrease in violence allows the viewer an even better look at some truly terrific acting. The performances by Lawrence, Hoffman, Moore are all award caliber, and I don't mean "for an action movie based on a young-adult movie," either. They're really great, which isn't a big surprise considering the pedigree each possesses. Still, it's nice to see layered character development in a blockbuster, and if this were a more-typical drama, even more praise would be justly heaped upon the cast.
Also along for the ride are Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) as the scraggly former Victor with more sense than he lets on; Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) as Katniss' fashion consultant, even in hiding; and Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), the former Tribute who's the tech wizard for District 13. They all have jobs to do in this new world order, and each job centers around making Katniss not into just a one-dimensional heroine for the world but to bring that heroine out of Katniss. You know, organically.
I'll admit that the first twenty minutes or so felt a little slow. Not forced, just a stark contrast to the pulse-pounding action of the earlier movies. But then things kick into a whole 'nother gear once Katniss see what's become of her beloved District 12, reduced to rubble in the aftermath of the last Hunger Games. It's compelling, wrenching stuff, particularly when you realize that's not just rubble laying before Katniss.
In all, I think Lawrence and company did an exemplary job. You know, it doesn't seem terribly difficult to stage manage action scenes – you let the tech guys do their thing and listen to your DP. But when you have to get your audience to identify with characters and relate to their plight, that takes a softer touch. And it's all well and good to just let Hoffman and Moore and Lawrence do their thing, but Lawrence also elicits fine, underplayed performances from Hutcherson, Hemsworth, Harrelson, and even Sutherland.