Not as good as the first two, but still decent.

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2014)

As has become normal with Hollywood franchises adapted from a book series, the final Hunger Games novel has been split into two movies, thus the first half of Mockingjay has to deal with the usual pitfalls of part-one-itis. Considering their YA roots, the previous cinematic incarnations had wowed due to their success in delivering exhilarating action alongside, rather than in place of, narrative smarts and maturity. Unfortunately, with the bulk of the action seemingly saved for the second entry (out next November), Mockingjay Part 1 is all work and no play, making it slightly dull compared to the excellent pair of films it has followed. It's also tonally darker and dramatically heavier, with the story venturing into super- serious territory and focussing on themes of death, loss and guilt. Returning director Francis Lawrence has a firm grip on this world though and, together with cinematographer Jo Willems, continues to craft an interesting look and feel to PanAm – both the gloriously pompous Capitol and the grubby, downtrodden districts aligning for an uprising. The whole cast is exceptional yet again: Jennifer Lawrence is a force to be reckoned with as the fiery Katniss, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore bring their usual gravitas as high- ranking members of the rebellion, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson draw out some humour among the grimness, and Josh Hutcherson makes the most of his relatively limited screen time as Capitol puppet Peeta. There's just not enough pulse-rising adventure to elevate this to the high standards already established in the series, an especially disappointing flaw when taking into account some of the awesome set pieces concocted in the preceding instalments. It's a shame it can't truly excel as its own movie, however Mockingjay Part 1 is still a solid flick that succeeds in tiding over fans until the big finale next year.