The Set Up

Rating: 7/10 (29 April 2016)

Fans of "THE HUNGER GAMES", the books, were delighted when the movies began being made. Fortunately for them they were successful enough that they didn't end with the first film. But that also leads to problems when it comes to the release of the rest of the movies and that's what made this one, the third in the series, so difficult.
A quick update for those who don't know: the Hunger Games were games between combatants, one male and one female, from twelve districts that took place at the Capitol in order to satiate the bloodlust of people and eliminate war. Only young people enter and this year things changed when Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) fall in love and promise to commit suicide together if they aren't both allowed to live. Thus was set in motion not only a love story but a battle of wills between Katniss and the President (Donald Sutherland) who rules with an iron fist.
As the third film opens you'll find yourself confused unless you've either just watched the second film or remember it vividly. For myself it took a while to get acclimated and put together the pieces of the second film which I hadn't watched in over 2 years. It would have been nice for an update but the choice was made not to. Oh well. As the film opens Katniss has been saved by the rebels and taken to refuge. There she meets President Coin (Julianne Moore) who informs her of what has been going on.
Katniss has taken on mythic proportions as the champion of the people, the Mockingjay (so named because of the bird mentioned in the first film and the medal she wears of one). Now Coin wants to use Katniss for propaganda purposes to stir up the rest of the country in support of the rebels. A team is put together, a mix of soldiers and press people, to film propos (propaganda films) of Katniss but none ring true. It isn't until she goes out in the field and witnesses the horrors of war and speaks her mind that the best footage is captured.
At the same time TV programming shows Peeta, now a "guest" of the Capitol, talking about how much Katniss should stop what she is doing and how wonderful the President really is. Katniss has none of it and realizes Peeta is only saying these things to stay alive. Her request of Coin is that Peeta be dismissed of all charges of treason when all is said and done and that they attempt to rescue him when possible.
The movie isn't a bad movie, really, but by making it a film to set up the last installment it leaves you feeling as if you walked into the middle of something and had to leave before it was over. Little changes from the start to the finish and what we get more than anything here is exposition, information about various characters that we will discover more about in that upcoming chapter but get acquainted with here.
The end result is a movie that has a few moments of action and forward motion but more often than not is a bit dull and tedious. Yes, it's great that we get to know these characters, it's great that we get to know what's coming up. But did they really have to split this into two movies? It would seem that it would have made a much better single film that crammed all of the information of both into a movie slightly over 2 hours long. But by splitting it into 2 they get to sell twice as many tickets and draw it out just a while longer. That seems to be the thing these days between the same format used in both the TWILIGHT and INSURGENT movies.
I doubt that fans will be disappointed here but perhaps the best thing to do when watching these movies now is to watch them all together at the same time. It will mean less confusion and a more straightforward viewing experience for those watching. While not a bad movie it leaves you wishing the next one were here and ready to be watched.