Breaking up the Trilogy: on Mockingjay Part 1

WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS INVOLVED IN THIS BLOG!!!! If you haven't seen the movie yet wish to invest time to do so without me ruining the entire thing for you, stop and read something else.  I have a ton of other options here for you to pick from, so don't be afraid to try something new!

Over thanksgiving break I went and saw Mockingjay: Part 1 of the Hunger Games trilogy.  The movie begins the conclusion of the series, similar to Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 did to the seven-book, eight-movie series.  It picks up after Katniss Everdeen, AKA Jennifer Lawrence, is taken to the hidden, thought-to-be-destroyed, District 13.  District 13 was thought to be destroyed after rebelling against the Capital of Panem (Do you guys remember the backstory or have you read the books?).  But, They have survived, and have been rebuilding their forces to fight against the Capital's oppression of the twelve other districts.  Katniss is to be used as a symbol hope to the other districts due to her heroics in the previous two books/movies.

Let it be known that I have read and seen the previous two iterations of the series.  And from what I have heard, the book Mockingjay is not as good of a read, and I just never have gotten around to reading it.  So all of my opinions are based on the movie, and not comparing it to the book or referencing the book in any way.


Katniss is obviously affected by some for of Post-Traumatic Stress from surviving two Hunger Games and losing her fellow competitor Peeta.  Peeta has been taken to the Capital and is now imprisoned there.  Katniss has bad dreams about the hunger games, and misses Peeta.  Under pressure from the head of District 13, Katniss agrees to become the Mockingjay, the symbol of rebellion to the rest of the districts.  Across Panem, the first waves of rebellion are sweeping the districts.  The Capital tries to contain the districts through force, primarily execution of those associated with rebelling against the Capital.

During the course of this, Katniss teams up with her friend from District 12, Gale, and they create promotional videos to be spread about Panem.  Gale is mainly there to be Katniss's bodyguard when they leave the sanctuary of District 13.  They travel around with a camera crew, all of whom escaped the Capital to work towards the rebellion.  This whole portion of the movie is orchestrated by Plutarch, the Chief Game Maker of Catching Fire.  His role is like the political chess player of the entire movie, indirectly battling President Snow through propaganda of Katniss in the field, and directing the President of 13 on how to rally her people to fight against the Capital.  Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the role of Plutarch as a mentor who knows more than what is going on.

Honestly, the first portion of Mockingjay was a bore.  There is an obvious set-up for something later, but the pacing is all off for a set-up movie.  There are portions of action, with Katniss fighting off some Capital bombers with a bow (Rambo anyone?), but they only serve to break up the portions of Katniss crying over Peeta or Plutarch talking about "moves and counter-moves."  Unfortunately this goes against my argument for the acting, which was spot-on over compared to the rest of the series.  Every person in the cast understands their characters position in the plot, and acts accordingly.  My problem came from the supporting cast.  Katniss's family seems hollow, despite having such an influence over her personality and choices, and Gale's position is only a place holder until Peeta returns.  Little is known about the President of 13, and the series only barely highlights other characters that escaped the previous Hunger Games from Catching Fire.

I again compare Mockingjay: Part 1 to the first part of the final Harry Potter series.  It allows the story to have multiple threads so the second part can wrap up the story as it was intended.  The presentation makes this fact forgettable, and allows you to watch with some excitement for the final installment.  Overall, however, it is the weakest portion of the series, because its pace and story telling is radically different than the previous two installments.

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Until next time.