A Very Good Effort, Best of the Series Thus Far, But it Could've Been Great Without the Jolting One-Year Split

Rating: 7/10 (20 February 2015)

Literally half of a movie in every sense of the word. Mockingjay has all the piece-placing, anticipation-building and scene-setting with none of the payoff, and that can make it feel terribly flat. President Snow is a ruthless dictator. The capital lives in the lap of luxury. The lower districts are ready to revolt. These plot points were already established in the first two films, and here they're only further reinforced and expanded. When its second half arrives, this will probably feel much stronger than it does today, which is an interesting proposition because despite its inherent flaws it's very well-made. The landscape (both physical and political) is startlingly realized, easily the most grimly authentic of the series, and the majority of its star-studded cast carries their roles above and beyond what I'd encountered in print. The exception, strangely, is Philip Seymour Hoffman, who quite clearly doesn't seem himself. It's a very unusual performance, one that instantly reminded me of Orson Welles's presence in the 80s animation Transformers: The Movie. Of course, Welles also passed just before completing his work, and with the benefit of hindsight it's clear that both already had one foot out the door. The film works, often quite well, but it's just not a whole product and that's problematic. Still, it's appropriately weighty, dark and explosive, with more depth than I thought it was capable of: an ultra-rare case of the screen outdoing the book.