Mockingjay Doesn’t Quite Catch Fire

Mockingjay Part 1

3 / 5

After the dramatic conclusion of the Quarter Quell, Katniss finds herself in District 13 but Peeta has been captured by the Capitol, thus a game between Coin and Snow ensues as they appeal to the people of Panem. Coin uses Katniss as the symbol of the rebellion, while Snow uses Peeta to psychologically torture Katniss and also to attempt to keep the rebelling districts in check.

When I first about Mockingjay being split up into 2 parts, my immediate thought was how? There isn’t enough going on to validate the decision to split the film into 2 parts, except for money. The book is 390 pages long and there is very little going on in the opening 150 pages or so, therefore the film interpretation was always going to be nothing more than setting the scene for the finale next year. Over storytelling is perhaps the biggest flaw of the film and in between the “propos” and Coin’s announcements there is very little going on, and quite a bit is not engaging enough to credit its inclusion.

There isn’t much action, but steadily the film does create a growing sense that Panem will reach a point of no return and that nothing will be the same again, for better or worse. The airstrikes made by the Capitol demonstrated how strong District 13 is, and also hinted at what is to come when Coin says “They don’t know about our secret weapon yet.” The seemingly brilliant rescue of the winning victors held captive by the Capitol is revealed to be a devious plan by Snow to have Katniss killed. His method: “hijacking” Peeta in order to have him get close to Katniss and eventually kill her, this he almost achieves in the final scenes of the film. The film ends on an enticing note and definitely wets the appetite for Part 2, which will certainly be better than this, which basically is to set the stage for the conclusion.

But I want to end this review on a positive note, so here it goes, the film does the action sequences very well, the District 8 scene is excellent and so is the rescue of the victors. And these action scenes are just a taste of what is to come with Part 2 and Katniss and Peeta’s relationship looks like it is going to be an enthralling watch.