Just Like The Book; The Weakest Of The Bunch

Rating: 4/10 (4 March 2017)

Back a year or so ago when I was reading the Hunger Games books, I considered "Mockingjay" to be the weakest of the trilogy...and it wasn't even really close (IMHO). I was hoping that this film version (much like how I though the "Catching Fire" movie was actually better than its piece of literature) would ignite more of a spark with me. As evidenced by the three-star rating, it did not. "Mockingjay Part One" is not a bad movie, but it just happens to be based on the weakest book in the series.
For a basic plot summary, this movie begins with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) having been yanked from the Quarter Quell. She is now in the mysterious District Thirteen, where President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) is the leader of a rebellion aimed at overthrowing President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the Capitol by uniting all the districts. In order to do this, Coin needs Katniss to relent to be the Mockingjay, or a powerful symbol of the rebellion. The problem? Katniss is more interested in reuniting with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who is now a pawn in Snow's counter-scheme (but is he WILLING pawn, that is the big question). After consulting with Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and even Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), Katniss decides to take up the mantle. Of course, she cannot possibly imagine the consequences this decision may have on her future.
Like I said, this isn't a terrible film. Director Francis Lawrence knows how to direct this series, and he understands how to get the most out of the material. The problem in this case IS the material. More specifically, the character of Katniss. In previous films/books, Katniss is the strong, central hero around which the entire plot revolves. In "Mockingjay", though, I felt like the source material takes great leaps/liberties with her character to suit the story. For example, in previous material she can't stand the "pomp and circumstance" surrounding her costumes and status. In this one, she immediately falls in love with her mockingjay costume and quickly steps forward as a figurehead. I know this is all supposed to be driven by her mad love for Peeta, but was that relationship really developed enough to truly make it seem believable?
Part of my "problem" with this film too, though, could be that I am a male adult. I am not the target (i.e. young adult) audience. The material of the Hunger Games is meant to suck in teen and young adult readers, first and foremost, with the "big ideas" appealing more broadly. By the time "Mockingjay" came around, however, the big ideas are running out, which means the love- triangle focus must narrow. So, a lot of it depends on how much you can "buy in" to the teen romance.
Overall, this is more of an "incomplete" grade than anything. I fully expect the second part to be much, much better once the action can really progress to its conclusion. But I can't give the studios a pass on their money-grab either. This movie did not NEED to be split into two parts, but was only done so to extend the hype surrounding the franchise.