The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

I've been quite busy recently and haven't had time to write a review for the the third instalment of The Hunger Games franchise. I saw the film last week and my feelings are a bit mixed on it. Carry on reading to find out why.

So the third film follows the first half of the final book in the trilogy. Following pretty much after the events of the second film, we see Katniss in District 13, where she must help start the rebellion by being the 'Mockinjay' symbol to create war propaganda and unite the districts against the Capitol. I've read the books and was surprised they were going to split the last one into two films. Unfortunately every young adult franchise seems to do this now and Lionsgate are going to want to keep on milking The Hunger Games cow because it has made them a tonne of money. Because The Hunger Games franchise has been so well done, I thought this film might show me a viable enough creative reason for splitting the films. It does not. The film drags and hasn't got enough content to keep me fully engaged throughout. In my opinion they split the films where the book finally gets interesting. This means the second part should be pretty great but I am not longing for it like I was after watching the brilliant Catching Fire.

Katniss is a great character and she has always been played superbly by Jennifer Lawrence. This film is not an exception but does feel less like Katniss is helping move the plot of her own film. Obviously this is not a great time in her life but there is only so much upset Katniss I can take, she took a backseat in this one and rarely engaged in the action. This is similar to the book, however she does do a lot more in the second half, so I guess we'll just have to wait a year to see Katniss at her best.

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad film. In fact there are quite a few really awesome and powerful scenes. The only problem is, is that the awesomeness is mixed in with long, boring scenes that drag. I just want to see the main character do something!

One of things I like about the films is that they can delve into the world more than the books did, because we aren't just looking at this world from Katniss's point of view. Mockingjay continues this and shows a really well developed and thought out world. We get to see some awesome rebellion scenes and find out more about the villains like President Snow, who was definitely my favourite character in this film. He is pretty darn scary. Donald Sutherland has brought way more to that character than I ever got from the books. I love all the political and social undertones to the film and they are the themes that separate this franchise from other young adult films. A love triangle is present but it never feels like the driving force of the film. I like that Mockingjay still feels different and cool.

So Mockingjay is an ok film with standout scenes but pretty dull ones as well. I feel if the third book was one film, with just the awesome scenes from part 1, and then whatever is to come in part 2, we could have been looking at one of the best trilogies of our generation. However this is not the case and the once superb franchise now has a dent in it, not a big one, but a dent none the less. I'm still excited for part 2 but not as much as I was last year after watching Catching Fire. I am giving The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 a rating of 3/5.

Here's hoping the second part is a lot better!

What did you think of Mockingjay Part 1? Are you still excited for the final instalment next year? Let me know in the comments below.

On a different note, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer came out yesterday and it looks incredible! I grew up on Star Wars and I cannot wait to go see a new one in the cinema! Go watch it if you haven't already!

Thanks for reading!