Mind blowing but not quite like the previous two

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2015)

I was quite impressed by this movie and was surprised by the number of negative comments on IMDb. Still, reading through such reviews you see that most complaints are about "lack of action" and "nothing happening" in this third Hunger Games installment. This is definitely correct - the movie contains much less of "slash and smash" and suspense type of moments than the previous two titles. However, this is also exactly what blows your mind if you don't start watching it set on a suspense filled clash in life-or-death setting. What does blow you away is the development in the movie of the pain and hopelessness of the people of the Districts pitted against ruthless and inhumane actions of the Capital and president Snow. The movie develops in quite an orthogonal direction from the previous two titles, and this indeed rubbed a lot of HG1-2 fans the wrong way.
In short, the movie does not contain excessive amount of action or breath-taking developments, but connects on a deeper and emotional level to show the things about Panem that did need to be shown. Don't come set for a suspense/action flick, and you will be rewarded with a deep and rich experience.