‘Hunger Games Mockingjay part 1’ review: a great setup for the war in part 2
Mockingjay: Part One made a decent $123 million in its opening weekend. It made as much as people expected it would, based on the final movies of the Twilight Saga and the Harry Potter series. I had pretty good expectations for part one of this finale because of the second movie (Catching Fire)
The movie picks up right from the second movie when Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is in District 13 after being saved from the Games. Katniss is still in shock that Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has been captured by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) with Johanna. She tried so hard during the last movie to keep him safe because she felt like she owed him, and now her worst nightmare has come true.
The leaders of the rebellion expect Katniss to be the symbol for the rebellion and help get the public rallied to join the rebellion and fight against the capitol. At first she is reluctant, because she doesn’t have enough confidence to know she can make a difference. But eventually after she sees what the capitol has done to her home, and what they have done to an unarmed hospital in district 8, it enrages her to stand up for what’s right.
People look to the mockingjay of the rebellion as she fights in the war and at the same time, the capitol is using Peeta as their symbol. They torture Peeta into saying what they want and stopping the public from fighting in the rebellion. And near the end of the movie, readers of the book know what is about to happen and yet; it’s still terrifying to see it play out on screen. As the movie comes to a close, it leaves you craving the second part of the finale to see how the rest of the rebellion and the war turns out.
The film co-stars Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore, Natalie Dormer, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Overall The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 1 receives 4 out of 5 stars
Part 2 arrives in theaters November 20, 2015.