A solid foundation for a great conclusion

Rating: 7/10 (4 December 2014)

Though destined to be the runt of the litter there is plenty to enjoy in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. It's a solid foundation to what has honestly been for me the best movie adaptation for a young adult book series.
There are moments of tension, menace, suspense and rousing inspiration. Propaganda, symbols, strategic discourse these are the elements that further flesh out the world of this series to make it feel grounded in spite of the survivalist set-pieces in the previous two. There was a moment towards the end where I was genuinely quite surprised with how nasty it got. This is what good YA fiction can do, incorporate some tough adult themes with strong characters to allow them to bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood.
It would be hard for me to pick it apart because I would be afraid that the stuff I did like would have been destined to be cut out. Director Francis Lawrence continues to show the sharp and purposeful direction seen in Catching Fire. Jennifer Lawrence keeps pushing herself as Katniss in this third film, her performances grow increasingly informed with every portrayal, in spite of what must be a punishing shoot her register is never one of complacency. The film does seem unsure of where to go at times but the foundation has been more than solidly set, they have taken advantage of the suspect conditions under which the movie was made.
People often point to how The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy or some other Marvel pop fluff piece is the second coming of Star Wars, I must disagree. To me after Catching Fire it became clear if there was ever to be an adequate contemporary equivalent to Star Wars, it would be this. The characters, politics and social equivalences mirror that of Star Wars in tone and structure on more than a few occasions but with the Hunger Games we are firmly in another equally well realized world and Katniss is the perfect protagonist for this adventure.