The flames of war

If we burn, you burn with us

I'm not a fan of movies based on young adult novels, especially when they're about utter crap such as glowing vampires or guys with very emo-induced attitudes that can somehow swoon a lonely girl who has no friends. Luckily, The Hunger Games films have had the fortune of being consistently entertaining, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the series, I've slowly grown to like them thanks to the great writing and how well it continues to grow in its' size and scope without ever feeling over-the-top. Despite taking place in a sci-fi dystopian setting, the series never forgets to remain grounded, always relying on its' characters instead to

tell the story. With Mockingjay part 1, the series continues to do so with this method, this time focusing on Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her crew recovering from surviving the last Hunger Games tournament. In despair and clearly suffering from PTSD, Katniss is not the same person as she was when she fought in her first tournament. After being rescued and taken to district 13, a district that has been secretly working on orchestrating a rebellion against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the Capitol, she meets the rebel leader President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) who informs her that her actions in the last tournament, from breaking out and destroying the arena, has caused people in other districts to riot and rebel against the capitol. Alma wants Katniss to be their "Mockingjay" as a symbol of the rebellion and to inspire the people to join in the revolution. Different than the previous two entries, Mockingjay part 1 plays more like a war of the campaigns, propaganda being the choice of weapon for both parties. While there is action present, it's not the

Katniss and her rebel crew

main focus, utilized more as a tool to fuel the rebellion. Compared to the last two, Mockingjay part 1 is slower and shorter but if I'm being honest, this part is the one I've enjoyed the most so far despite it's change of pace. Although I'm not fond of splitting the film into two parts (to me it's just another way of milking more money), I feel as if it benefits from the split as the movie can move organically without having to rush through certain key points or sacrifice character development. Overall, the quality of the films continues to stay consistent, leading to a very promising part 2 and satisfying conclusion to the Hunger Games saga, with high hopes that the fire will stay lit well into the end.


-Reviewed by Razor, 3/14/15

---