Went in with cynicism, came away unsurprised

Rating: 5/10 (13 April 2017)

So The Hunger Games follows the lead of Harry Potter and â€“ its own spiritual nemesis â€“ Twilght, and splits its final chapter in half. The resultÂ… is not surprising.
After the events of the trilogy's second act, Catching Fire, Katniss wakes up surrounded by new allies with dubious motives. She desperately wants to rescue Peeta, who has been taken by the tyrannical Capitol, but her allies want her to become a symbol of strength and hope for the downtrodden Districts.
Compared to the first two films, this one feels like the most grim, realistic interpretation of the themes involved. Mockingjay Part 1 is a bleak, visually monotone and narratively reserved; there are lots and lots of visuals depicting death and destruction, we see heroine Katniss standing in a field of burnt bodies and skulls, we have executions and brainwashing to drill into our heads that The Capitol are vicious. Wow. I never would have thought I would say that, the incompetent villains are actually evil here, we actually get a real sense of uncompromising tyranny that could rule over millions of lives. The threat is finally real, and there's a sense that Katniss really must choose, that her fate is now entwined with the fate of all the Districts.
But this whole cutting the chapter in half nonsense continues to not work. My prevailing memory of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 are those of stale, dull, elongated moments (mostly camping in the forest), and Mockingjay Part 1 is no different. Scenes are stretched, padded and unnecessarily quiet and dull. When watched in a vacuum this only makes the persistent thought of "this isn't going to conclude" all the more apparent. Most of the film is about Katniss trying to get over tension and shock to become the poster girl for a rebellion. There little to no combat or action, because this is only the first and partly second act of a complete film.
I boycotted this film's release on principle: the first two films had uneventful segments, and if they boost that uneventfulness into one entire movie, I will be both bored and unsatisfied. While the film didn't quite bore me as much as I thought it might, it was as unsatisfying as I expected.
Perhaps the best part of this film is the twisted dynamic between Katniss and Peeta. While it does not have the same power as Catching Fire's celebrity gossip themes, it is this film's greatest asset. Although I do have a soft spot for stories that literally corrupt heroes.
The Capitol finally have fangs, and the film benefits tremendously from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and newcomer Juiliane Moore, Jennfier Lawrence too maintains her multi-layered Katniss very well and there's a good sense of continuity with Catching Fire. But I refuse, I refuse to believe this is better as two parts. A screenwriter worth his or her salt could compress this into a single film, perhaps the longest film in the series but at least that's not the ridiculous cash grab that is two incomplete films.
Each Lord of the Rings book was a single film!
I went into Mockingjay Part 1 with cynicism, and unfortunately it didn't change my overall opinion enough. Sure, I fully admit I am too old for this series (if I were thirteen I'd be all over it, and completely smitten by Ms Lawrence) and if I were a fan I'd be chewing my own arm off to see the conclusion. But in terms of singular films, which this must be rated as, it is nothing spectacular.