The Mockingjay Lives

Rating: 8/10 (21 November 2014)

In the very beginning of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1", 17-year-old Katniss Everdeen has been through a hell of a lot. She went through two Hunger Games, her love Peeta has been taken by the Capitol and as witnessed later, she sees that her home District 12 has been destroyed by no other than the sinisterly wicked President Coriolanus Snow who has kidnapped and brainwashed poor Peeta in order to call off the radical rebellion that's happening against the dystopian world of Panem and to get rid of the cause known as the Mockingjay. So far, it totally seems that we're closer to the end of an amazing series. The tone gets very dark, the political ideas and serious themes are more thought-provoking and it's surprisingly different from the previous two. Gone are the stunning arenas and colorfully bold costumes and it adds in a more darker (or gray-ish) palette and a few key elements that makes the first part of the third and final book of Suzanne Collins' marvelous trilogy a gripping and strong, if not better, addition in the series. The always wonderful Oscar-winning Jennifer Lawrence takes Katniss to new heights. She's broken, haunted, tormented by nightmares and still suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She's confined in an underground bunker known as District 13, run by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore in a solid performance). Coin is unsure about Katniss, seeing that she is still suffering after the events in the Third Quarter Quell in "Catching Fire". Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final roles) insists that she still has to be the Mockingjay. It's a simple logic: Show the rebellion that she is still standing and fighting until the end by filming propaganda (or "propos") videos. Take the scene in District 8, after a airstrike sent by Snow (Donald Sutherland), she speaks from the heart knowing that the rebels won't surrender that easy after that event. Still, Katniss is ripped apart by many things. She still cares for Gale (the incredible Liam Hemsworth) who's ready for the revolution to happen, but her heart belongs to Peeta (a heart wrenching and soulful Josh Hutcherson), as mentioned that he is the Capitol's puppet or just saving Katniss from devastation. But she is saved by her mom (Paula Malcomson) and her sister, Prim (the adorable Willow Shields). Also joining in the ranks are another broken victor Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin), Katniss' mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) who is now sober and still very helpful, Cressida (a wickedly cool Natalie Dormer from "The Tudors" and "Game of Thrones"), a filmmaker trying to capture as much as she can with Katniss in the middle of all this along with her camera crew, a wheelchair-bound Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) who communicates with transporting video signals and crashing it through the Capitol and Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), a smart deviation from the book, who does not like being in a world full of gray jumpsuits but comes around eventually. Taking apart the final book in a series and turning it into two movies doesn't really seem necessary (it worked out before with "Harry Potter" and "Twilight"), but returning director Francis Lawrence of "Catching Fire" and screenwriters Danny Strong ("The Butler", "Game Change") and Peter Craig ("The Town") with adaptation by Suzanne Collins herself manages to keep the film moving at a slow but breakneck pace to give us some deep insights in the world of Panem, expands its scope a bit more, and getting us really connected and involved with the world while staying true to Collins's book and changing and fixing some of the weaknesses of the book. There's not much action this time around (there's only two big set pieces), but it's deeply rooted in the story and characters and the human drama behind it works its way though our minds. And again, the movie and this franchise wouldn't work if it weren't for Jennifer Lawrence. She makes Katniss a wounded, vulnerable, but strong and charismatic heroine that's joining in the ranks of strong females such as Lisbeth Salander and Hermione Granger. In a surprisingly sweet moment, she belts out a signature moment from the book, "The Hanging Tree", a bluegrass-type of song. When she sings, we immediately feel it and we see that she becomes a beacon of hope for the rebellion. I know it's only one half of a movie but it's only half good when it ends with a thrilling climax involving a rescue mission and a striking cliffhanger that leads our way into the finale. What will the final film bring to the table? I don't know. But if you're thinking with a groan or a relieved sigh for next year, make sure your homework is prepared and you got enough information so that you won't be lost in the system. Since it's the calm before the storm, "Mockingjay: Part 1" may not have a whole lot to take it all in, but it refuses to back down and stands up for the revolution and the power of changing the world one day at a time.