A Series Stripped of Its Power

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 2014)

After walking out of the theater having just seen The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, my initial reactions were a bit conflicted. My first thoughts towards it were quite negative. Then I had to think of the film coming from the standpoint that it is, after all, a lead up to the grand finale, hence the Part 1. But then I came to the conclusion that whether viewed as a standalone or set-up film, Mockingjay - Part 1 fails to meet the high expectations set by its predecessors, leaving a juggernaut series deprived of its power.
As a lead up to the (hopefully) bigger and better Part 2, Mockingjay - Part 1's job is simple: deliver an exciting film that builds the series' current momentum forward and creates mass anticipation for the eventual finale. At the end of the day, Part 1 doesn't meet that goal. Not only was it borderline boring but more importantly, my high anticipation for the final chapter of this series has been heavily damaged. I was far and away more excited to see Part 1 following Catching Fire than I am for Part 2 following Part 1, and in a two part film finale, that's exactly what you don't want.
Let's talk about the actual movie a bit. We pick up right where Catching Fire left off. Lead character Katniss Everdeen as been chosen to be the face of a revolution against the tyrant Capitol and the movie makes it seem like all Hell is going to break lose. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the film suffers from being slow, shallow and uneventful. Too often does the movie trap itself in sluggish scenes while trying to make the audience care about the mass conflict between the Capitol and Rebellion. Any momentum the movie picks up is almost immediately shot down by another slow, heart-felt seen about being sad or angry at the past or at the present situation. The pacing of the film is that of a disjointed sloth, leaving little to zero space for the viewer to become eager for the next scene. All of this makes the movie seem like it's stretching itself way too thin, making you wonder if a two part film was even necessary in the first place.
Action is scarce, something that is undeniably critical to create success for The Hunger Games name. I mean, Katniss fired ONE arrow the entire movie. Not exactly the idea of exhilarating. There are a few intense action scenes, but they're often too quick to get excited about. One clear downfall of Part 1 is it's lack of an actual Hunger Games. While I understand that the story bases from the book and may not exactly be the fault of the writers, what sets the series apart from others is The Hunger Games themselves. Now that you take that away, it just becomes another action film which happens to use past Hunger Games as a background. In terms of overall story arc, it doesn't hurt as badly because of the continuing development of the franchises's story. But in terms of the immediate story and the film's enjoy-ability, the absence of the franchise's most dynamic feature hurts. When it comes to action and intensity, Part 1 talks the talk, but certainly doesn't walk the walk.
Jennifer Lawrence is now the glue holding this once great cast together. After having such words of praise for the film's cast in Catching Fire, most of the major players didn't seem to bring their A game for Part 1. Outside of Lawrence, I still deeply enjoyed the performances of Donald Sutherland as antagonist President Snow and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, whom the film was dedicated to. But unlike the earlier entries in the series, they same cannot be said for Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson and especially newcomer Julianne Moore as President Coin, who never captures the essence of her character's power and influence. For most of the cast, it was almost as if they were just dragging through the movie, like they were saying "get on to Part 2 all ready". This seems to be partially due to a poorly written script. Luckily Lawrence saves the day with another wonderful performance and stops the entire cast from completely nose-diving.
The positives are still there, if minimal. Along with the acting of Lawrence, Sutherland and Hoffman, as a set-up film Part 1 does get some things right. Although dull, the character development and charisma between the characters grows deeper so when Part 2 comes along, we'll all ready known who everyone is and what they stand for. Some new characters are welcome additions, and though unexplored in Part 1, the background was set up nicely for Part 2 to blow people's minds.
Some people say it was all for the second half and that you have to look past the minimal action and slow pacing. But my mind has been set. The painfully sluggish pacing, dismal scenes of unexciting dialogue, lack of hardly any action and overall poor acting puts the fire right out for this massive franchise. It may be blowing up the box office, but make no mistake, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is like a joke with no punch line; it's half-hearted and leaves you wanting more.
5.5/10