Title: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part I
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland
Runtime: 2 hr 5 mins

What It Is: The first half of the last book in Suzanne Collins popular YA series. When last we left Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) she was being taken to the mysterious and previously unknown District 13. It is down here in it’s militarily built walls we meet the Districts leader President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) as they prepare Katniss to be the symbol of their revolution, the Mockingjay as she sees the capitol using her district mate Peeta (Hutcherson) as a foil within the propaganda. Being pulled between her love if Panam and the love of Peeta, the extent of which we are unaware, Katniss has to decide what means more to her as she gets pulled in various directions.

What We Think: As a complete narrative is struggles due to it being Part I of this final book. What the film does do, is it’s job. It sets the table well but the ending is the worst of the series. There are some exciting parts to this, particularly those involving Katniss in battle. I was really disappointed in some of the things I saw. Primarily the new characters Cressida and her crew. Sure she looked cool with the haircut, but at the end of the day they werent interesting characters.

Our Grade:C-, There is a certain unfinished nature to the storytelling here. I understand the nature of what the studio is doing here but it really hurts the narrative. We build up the action just to deflate audiences because now we have to wait another year for the end of the series.