The Plot Thickens, Or Does It?

Rating: 4/10 (21 November 2014)

Just when we thought we had a new complex and interesting female character—a true heroine—this latest entry shows her spending half (or even more) of the time talking about and crying over boys. Her motivations become so muddled by yet another generic YA love triangle (screaming over Peeta and listlessly kissing Gale). This all certainly isn't helped by the fact that Jennifer Lawrence seemingly just doesn't understand the acting technique of subtlety. Her highly hysterical/overreacting character leaves much to be desired in regards to actual nuance—a case that would allow the viewers to look into her eyes and judge for themselves. Lawrence's sheer overacting has dominated most of her work since the Oscar win (actually, including Silver Linings Playbook as well) with this manner becoming even more noticeably cringe-worthy with Mockingjay Part 1. Her loud- mouthed/attention-provoking, apparently "real" persona has won many people over and her way of forcing her "acting" in audiences' faces (weeping, yelling, or generally acting in aggression in almost every other scene) makes it unsurprising as to why she's still in the public's favor.
As for the narrative, the stakes always appear so heightened and forcibly gloom, but the resolutions are always so perfect to the point where it's difficult to seriously believe in the peril of the story's characters. In this addition, Katniss Everdeen has fully assumed the "Mockingjay" symbol—a public leader for the final revolution against the Capitol. More and more of the district's citizens have become aware of the atrocities committed by its government and the vileness of the Hunger Games. It's time to courageously fight back! Each one of these films possess very obvious—perhaps, even heavy-handed—analogies to the contemporary climate and the world's current circumstances when it comes to "radical" revolutionaries, government control/failure of democracy, media influence, etc.
Considering that the series' premise centers on people who're forced to kill each other in order to survive, our primary characters always end up fine by the conclusion. "Is he dead?" "Did they die?" No, not for a minute am I convinced that anyone is on the brink of death. Maybe they'll make the drama and danger genuine in the finale next year, maybe not. Then again, it's the same annoying issue every expensive blockbuster suffers from these days, especially the Marvel films. (Yes, I know this is a film adaptation of a book series that's following an already-created narrative; it still doesn't change anything about the tale's quality or the right to criticize it.) On the other hand, this time around, we thankfully don't have to deal with the utterly predictable and tedious hunger game sections. Part 1 of this two-part climax reminds me of the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in that it focuses more on the set-up and grounded drama rather than the explosive ultimate battles, meaning that I'll likely prefer this one to next year's (yes, I much preferred the first part of Harry Potter's finale to the last half).
Moreover, the stunning visuals/cinematography really does improve with every installment. The look of these films always seem to darken and grow starker with every new entry; the style of the franchise is very much its distinctive own. As a matter of fact, the exceptional sound mixing and grand production design drastically help distinguish this franchise from the innumerable cheap YA rip-offs that came after its success.
Nonetheless, the overall cast, filled with bland pretty boys and unremarkable veteran performances, makes the entire film (which, keep in mind, is considerably shorter than its predecessors) feel like somewhat of a bore to get through. The objectives for the characters are set into motion fairly quickly, but most of the film is wasted on needless dialogue and repetitious scenes ("I love Peeta," and then, "we have to rescue Peeta!" about a dozen times throughout). It only makes it that much more obvious that the studio simply separated the films to blatantly cash in on the property—the newest irritating trend in the industry.