Disappointing for book fans

Rating: 6/10 (24 November 2014)

While the first installment of Mockingjay did have its merits, it really disappointed me as a fan of the books. I think everyone can agree that the trend of splitting a single book into two movies is profit-mongering in a case like this, where the content could have easily fit into one film. However, I'm not averse to having a less-action-packed movie-- as long as the extra time is used to truly bring the book to life.
My biggest disappointment was the loss of the depth of the bond that forms between Katniss and Finnick in the book. In the movie, even with all of Katniss's crying, it felt like both of them were too sane, as opposed to the book, where they both literally end up on the ground sobbing and have to be sedated. Finnick is the only one who can understand and lessen Katniss's pain, knowing that Annie is being used to torment him long before she figures out the same. To me, Finnick's limited screen time was a huge loss, and I hope it will not lessen *Spoiler for fourth movie* the impact of his death in the final movie.
Another of the things I felt were detrimental to the film was the omission of Katniss's prep team and her failure to demand to kill President Snow herself. While I understand that Suzanne Collins made the call to replace the relatively-unknown prep team with the crowd-pleasing Effie, I don't think that was a reasonable substitution. Finding the prep team, neglected and mistreated in the dungeons of District 13, is a turning point for Katniss is some ways. Not only does it show the audience how she cares for these people, even though they supported the culture that put her through two brutal arenas, but it also demonstrates the darker side of the rebellion and Coin's own corruption. In the book, Peeta's urgings to ask herself who she's working with actually cause her to doubt herself, and there are long discussions regarding Coin's fear of Katniss becoming more powerful than she is. In the movie, Coin comes off as a hard-liner, yes, but appears to be motivated completely by the need of the people. Along with Katniss's missing demand, this may mean that *SPOILER for fourth movie* Katniss will not kill Coin.
In spite of all this, I still felt that the movie was a fair interpretation of the book and good in its own right. I thought that the acting was great, and I loved seeing new perspectives that were not possible in the book.