Hunger Games, the Mockingjay Part 1 - Review

[Cos]

I have read all of the books, and when I heard that they were going to make the last book into two movies, I had my doubts...and unfortunately my doubts were reinforced. Going to the well one too many times is a good description of Part 1.

The move is slow moving, very little action and all about the build up to the next movie. A Whiney" Katniss" and way too much dialogue does little to keep me interested in this movie.

There is a reason why the first movie had a $60 million budget, the second 130 million and the last two 150 million combined.

Very little special effects, a lot of the action sequences are left to the imagination (i.e. off screen) and characters that you grew attached to like Hamish are relegated to the background.

I do appreciate character development, and there are times that it works well in this movie, but some things are much better written in a book than displayed on a movie screen. This move was supposed to light the fuse for part 2, but I think it fizzed out before reaching the explosive.

I realize that this review might be harsh, but I was really disappointed by this film, and even if it is still 30 million off the last film I am sure Lions Gate is crying all the way to the bank

 

[skizzerflake]

I agree...my comments follow -

Tonight seemed to be the night for the latest installment of Hunger Games. In the spirit of our time, not only do we have movies based on multi-part novels, but, in the never ending quest for box office, producers even split up it up further, so a 3 part story becomes a 2 + 2 or 2 + 2(1/2) or whatever. In this latest episode we find things not so good in Panem as disobedience to the Capital has resulted in the complete destruction of “District 12”. Resistance is spreading, but the Capital, under its devious despot President Snow (a truly satanic Donald Sutherland), has co-opted Peeta and is using him to spread propaganda in interviews with the ever slimy Caesar Flicker (Stanley Tucci returns to his decadent role). Katniss Everdeen (reprised by Jennifer Lawrence of course) is pining for Peeta and laying low in an underground installation dominated by the rebel leader President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), who seems like she could be either a liberator or the next despot. Philip Seymour Hoffman makes a post-mortem appearance as Plutarch. I had the feeling that some of his performance was virtualized and I don’t think it will help his legacy.

What’s surprising in this episode is that Katniss is mainly a tool, being manipulated for propaganda purposes by President Coin. When she ventures out from the bunker, it’s mainly to do a video shoot that can be broadcast with the end of rallying the rebellion. As the movie moves on, things get worse for the Districts, but, in a turn of events, the rebellion manages to strike back at The Capital. It’s safe to assume that this won’t come to a happy end since it’s hard to not notice the comparisons to the Roman Empire (especially with characters like Caesar, Cressida, Castor, Pollux, Plutarch and Antonius).

This episode serves as a bridge to the finale that won’t be out for another year. It’s a decent continuation of the series but not much more than that. The performances are quite good, with Jennifer Lawrence portraying a much more subdued version of Katniss. Donald Sutherland isn’t on screen very much, but he seems even more evil than in the previous episodes and seems to be enjoying the opportunity to scorch some earth in the districts. Woody Harrelson returns as Haymitch, now more of a burned out stoner than the drunk he was in previous episodes. The rest of the cast is as good but no better than they need to be. The FX are pretty good, as is every aspect of the production, but I have to admit that a lot about the movie seemed to be phoned in. It definitely had the feel of a transition…too much time, not enough plot movement, the sort of thing that could be a prologue to the final episode. So things suck in the districts, Katniss doesn’t know what her next move is and dissent is spreading. That’s a half hour of plot, not an entire episode. This seems to resemble The Hobbitt, in which there just isn’t enough plot to support such epic productions. Of course, I know that movies are about money, and Mockingjay will make lots of that, but I can’t help feeling that four movies is just more than the concept can support.

 

[darien87]

I didn't bother with this one as it's just a cash grab by the studio. I'll wait til the last one is out and see them together.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Another iTunes movie for me when it is released.

 

[3db]

I have read all of the books, and when I heard that they were going to make the last book into two movies, I had my doubts...and unfortunately my doubts were reinforced. Going to the well one too many times is a good description of Part 1.

The move is slow moving, very little action and all about the build up to the next movie. A Whiney" Katniss" and way too much dialogue does little to keep me interested in this movie.

There is a reason why the first movie had a $60 million budget, the second 130 million and the last two 150 million combined.

Very little special effects, a lot of the action sequences are left to the imagination (i.e. off screen) and characters that you grew attached to like Hamish are relegated to the background.

I do appreciate character development, and there are times that it works well in this movie, but some things are much better written in a book than displayed on a movie screen. This move was supposed to light the fuse for part 2, but I think it fizzed out before reaching the explosive.

I realize that this review might be harsh, but I was really disappointed by this film, and even if it is still 30 million off the last film I am sure Lions Gate is crying all the way to the bank

Wow... The trailer is exactly the opposite of what you are stating so I'm gathering the trailer is a summary of all the action scenes in the movie. I hate when they do that.

The Hobbit was also made into three films as well.

 

[Cos]

It is not completely without action, more like 90% w/o. While I am HUGE fan of the hobbit movies, they should have made it into 2, but it's a cash grab. They took a lot of liberties with the book to target a larger audience, which I can respect, but the LOTR Trilogy was done much better in my opinion.

That being said, I will be there at 8:00pm on Wednesday for the IMAX for the last Hobbit move as I am a sucker