'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' review by Captain Raptor

'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' review by Jake Boyle

The Hunger Games franchise was in an awkward position in the run-up to this release. There was a lot of expectations riding on it - the previous two films have grossed in excess of one and a half billion dollars, and more dauntingly, both placed highly on the Captain Raptor Top Ten Films of the Year - but the notoriously less popular third book is having to pull double its weight in viewers. Obviously people were always going to (and have) come to see Mockingjay Part 1 in droves, but a disappointing performance could limit the interest and intake of the second half next year.

Despite straying from the arena combat of the first two installments, some things have stayed the same. Jennifer Lawrence gives a consistently good performance, a bit more subdued than before but the script doesn't give her as much opportunity as it previously did. Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and especially Josh Hutcherson remain fantastic in their supporting roles, which are unfortunately all too brief here. While this does make the moments they are present even more entertaining, it leaves us stuck with the series' most dreary characters like Gale and Prim for far longer than is desirable. The politics of revolution and dystopia are brought forth from sideline to front-and-centre this time, which has irritated some but I personally find to be a winning move. Despite the drought of action in the film, it brings the saga's real battlefield (media, politics and class struggle) into clear focus and makes this film feel the weightiest and most climactic thus far.

 Proceedings are quite dull to begin with, but after a while the tragedies caused by Donald Sutherland's glowering Machiavelli figure allow emotion and tension to surge forward. At times it's quite predictable, which for a relatively subversive blockbuster is a disappointment, and Mockingjay is certainly a little more dour than its predecessors, presumably owing to the minimal presence of Harrelson and Banks - although Effie's reintroductory scene is a thing of beauty. These are problems, but it's worth noting that these flaws are all routed in not being quite as good as it used to be. The best parts of The Hunger Games are all still very much in tact, and this time with a subtler tone and more purpose in its message.

 Mockingjay is a placeholder of sorts, but it's a highly entertaining and well executed one. Jennifer Lawrence proves yet again why the whole world's obsessed with her, and the focus on the social issues at the heart of the concept gives this film a more mature feel. There are missteps along the way and it could definitely be bolder about the message it's conveying, but the competence and confidence of the narrative and the subtext craft an engaging and exciting experience.