Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I - Movie Review

Yes, I read the books.  I devoured them.  I loved them.  I have also really enjoyed the first two movies.

Now that that's out of the way, on to Mockingjay Part I.  Okay, I also loved this one.  This third installment finds Catniss the somewhat unwilling spokesperson for the rebel movement against the Capitol and in pain at the loss or peril of people she loves and/or feels responsible for.  It's definitely the darkest of this already darkly themed trilogy (the nerd in me wants to compare it to The Empire Strikes Back, but I digress).  We also see more Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and less Peeta for the first time, but Peeta's presence hangs heavily and constantly over Catniss and the viewer.  The rebellion may be the center of all action in Mockingjay Part I, but the Catniss and Peeta relationship is still central to the story.  Jennifer Lawrence is given more to do emotionally in this film and finally shows some range as Catniss, who heretofore looked to me like a character who could probably be played just as well by a variety of Hollywood ingenues. The addition of Julianne Moore as rebel alliance leader Coin is a welcome one, even without her signature red hair.  She predictably plays the aloof coldness from the book to perfection.  (Side note: I actually pictured Moore in the role when I read it, after the first movie had just come out - no joke.) On a sad note, every scene featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman hit me hard, right in the gut.

Overall, I think the book was translated well into this first installment and new immediately when I read the book that two movies would be justified, but I'm still wondering how they're going to pull off some of the scenes from the second half of the book without looking too comical.  However, there were a few larger changes in Mockingjay Part I that also make me wonder if there will be significant changes to the ending or at least to the through storyline before it's all said and done.  It was intense, and as evidenced by non-book readers that I was with, equally so, whether you've read the books or not, which I consider quite a feat in itself.  Mockingjay Part II is honestly the first non-TV sequel in years that I am going to be hanging on eagerly to see, not just because I simply enjoyed this movie so much, but because I desperately need to know the fates of those involved, like the good old days...okay, I'll say it, like the original Star Wars trilogy.

4 out of 5 stars