“THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1” (2014): AN EXCELLENT DYSTOPIAN SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURE FILM

It is a 2014 American dystopian science fiction adventure film directed by Francis Lawrence (he has a post in my blog) with a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong. 

It is the first of two films based on Suzanne Collins' novel Mockingjay, the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy, and the third installment in The Hunger Games film series (the three have posts in my blog), produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik and distributed by Lionsgate. 

The film features an ensemble cast that includes Jennifer Lawrence (she has a post in my blog), Josh Hutcherson (he has a post in my blog), Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore (she has a post in my blog), Philip Seymour Hoffman (he has a post in my blog), Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci (he has a post in my blog), and Donald Sutherland: he has a post in my blog. 

Principal photography for both parts of the film began on September 23, 2013, in Atlanta, before moving to Paris for two weeks of filming and officially concluding on June 20, 2014, in Berlin.

The story continues to follow Katniss Everdeen; having twice survived the Hunger Games, Katniss finds herself in District 13. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss reluctantly becomes the symbol of a mass rebellion against the Capitol and fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage. It is the sequel to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and was followed by the concluding entry, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2: both have posts in my blog.

Mockingjay – Part 1 was released on November 21, 2014 in the United States. Like its predecessors, the film was a commercial success grossing $55 million on its opening day, making it the largest opening day of 2014 and the sixth-largest in November. The film went to the No. 1 spot during its opening weekend with a $273.8 million worldwide gross, becoming the biggest opening of 2014 and marking The Hunger Games film series as the only franchise to have three films earn over $100 million in a weekend. The film earned over $755 million worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2014 and the second-highest-grossing entry in The Hunger Games series.

Part 1 received generally positive reviews from critics, who commended its acting, musical score and political subtext, but received criticism for its lack of action and for splitting the novel into two separate adaptations. It is the lowest-rated Hunger Games film of the franchise, according to review aggregators Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. The film had garnered a nomination for Best Science Fiction Film at the 41st Saturn Awards. For her performance, Lawrence received a nomination for Best Actress in an Action Movie at the 20th Critics' Choice Awards and a Saturn Award nomination. The song "Yellow Flicker Beat" also received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards and Critics' Choice Awards.

Plot

After being rescued from the destroyed arena in the 75th Hunger Games, tributes Katniss Everdeen, Beetee, and Finnick Odair are taken to District 13, a below-ground district isolated from Panem that has been spearheading the rebellion. Katniss is reunited with her mother and sister Prim and is introduced to President Alma Coin, the rebel leader. Katniss is told that her arrow destroying the forcefield led to riots in over half the districts, joining District 13 in the rebellion, which caused Snow to bomb District 12 in retaliation. Coin asks her to become the "Mockingjay"—a symbol of the rebellion—as part of a "hearts and minds" strategy. Katniss reluctantly agrees after seeing Peeta being manipulated on state television to quell the rebellion. She visits the ruins of District 12, her old house somehow untouched with white roses from President Snow inside.

Katniss meets her film team and is given Effie Trinket as a stylist and close friend Gale as a bodyguard. They go to District 8 where Katniss is filmed being saluted by dozens of wounded civilians at a hospital; Snow, seeing the footage, orders an airstrike at the hospital, killing everyone inside. The crew films Katniss and Gale shooting down two Capitol hovercrafts and Katniss' rage-filled threat: "If we burn, you burn with us." District 7 revolts, shouting the same phrase and killing Peacekeepers.

Katniss and her team travel to District 12. Katniss is filmed singing "The Hanging Tree." Hundreds of protesters in District 5, singing the same anthem, launch a suicidal human wave attack against a hydroelectric dam that is the Capitol's primary source of electricity. The attack knocks out power, forcing the Capitol to revert to secondary generators. That night, Katniss watches Peeta being interviewed by Caesar Flickerman, the Games' former presenter, when Coin and Beetee hijack the signal to air a clip of Katniss. After seeing it, Peeta suddenly shouts a warning that the Capitol is about to attack District 13. Coin orders a mass evacuation into deep, underground shelters, and the facility survives the attack. Upon emerging, Katniss discovers the area littered with white roses; she concludes that Snow orchestrated this to inform her that whenever she condemns the Capitol, they’ll torture Peeta in retaliation.

Coin dispatches an elite special-forces team to rescue Peeta and remaining victors Johanna Mason, Enobaria, and Annie Cresta from their prison. Beetee hijacks the Capitol's defense system with a "propo" narrated by Finnick to convince more districts to side with the rebellion. Gale's team rescues the victors and escapes the Capitol easily, indicating the Capitol reduced its security on purpose. When Katniss greets Peeta, he unexpectedly attacks and strangles her into unconsciousness before being knocked out by Boggs.

Katniss wakes up and is informed that Peeta has been "hijacked"—brainwashed into trying to kill her, which explains why the Capitol allowed them to escape with him. Peeta is placed in solitary confinement, while a serum is developed to reverse the hijacking effects.

Coin announces that the rebels' next objective is the Capitol's principal military stronghold in District 2—now the only district remaining loyal to the Capitol.

Music

 

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"The Mockingjay"			2:39
2.	"Remind Her Who the Enemy Is"			2:29
3.	"District 12"			3:23
4.	"Snow's Speech"			3:32
5.	"Please Welcome Peeta"			3:53
6.	"Katniss' Nightmare"			2:06
7.	"The Arsenal"			3:54
8.	"Incoming Bombers"			4:33
9.	"Don't Be a Fool Katniss"			1:40
10.	"District 12 Ruins"			3:38
11.	"The Hanging Tree" (featuring Jennifer Lawrence)	Suzanne Collins	Jeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz	3:38
12.	"Peeta's Broadcast"			1:45
13.	"Air Raid Drill"			4:31
14.	"It's Gonna Be a Long Night"			2:26
15.	"Taunting the Cat"			2:08
16.	"White Roses"			3:25
17.	"District 8 Hospital"			2:07
18.	"The Broadcast"			1:11
19.	"Jamming the Capitol"			3:27
20.	"Inside the Tribute Center"			3:44
21.	"Put Me on the Air"			3:10
22.	"They're Back"			2:47
23.	"Victory"

 

Critical response

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise aimed at its political subtext and acting performances (particularly that of Lawrence), but criticism for its lack of action and the makers' splitting the source material for two separate adaptations. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 69% approval rating, based on 292 reviews, with an average score of 6.31/10. The site's consensus reads: "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 sets up the franchise finale with a penultimate chapter loaded with solid performances and smart political subtext, though it comes up short on the action front." The film holds a Metacritic score of 64 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an "A-" grade, indicating positive reactions from paying viewers.

Cath Clarke of Time Out gave the film four out of five stars. She praised the politics as "tensely gripping" and felt it had a lot to say about the "ethical ambiguities of war." She praised Lawrence's performance as "strong, smart, stubborn, angry and full of heart" and noted it had grown "deeper and darker." Kevin Harley, who reviewed the film for Total Film, also awarded the film four out of five stars. He felt the film held up due to Lawrence's performance and solid supporting cast. He also offered praise to the action scenes and diverse story telling. He concluded that the movie was "gutsy" and managed to successfully divide the novel into a film "less on scraps than strategy" and "less on action than debates" though he noted this threatened to "distance viewers."

Robbie Collin awarded the film three out of five stars. In his review for The Telegraph, he praised the film for being "intense, stylish, topical, well-acted" and declared that it "remains one of the most fascinating, vividly realised fantasy landscapes in recent cinema." Despite praising Lawrence and Hoffman's performance, he felt that it was overcrowded with "two hours of preamble with no discernible payoff." He concluded that the film "fell short" and "could not be called satisfying." Henry Barnes of The Guardian also gave the film three out of five stars. He felt it offered "thrills" despite "lacking a solid structure" and featured "limp special effects." He was also critical of the "creaky script" and felt it lacked some of the "terror" of the previous installments, but praised Lawrence for her performance.

Todd McCarthy, who reviewed the film for The Hollywood Reporter, felt the installment was "disappointingly bland and unnecessarily protracted." He was critical of the film's leisurely pace and noted it felt "like a manufactured product through and through, ironic and sad given its revolutionary theme." Richard Corliss of Time felt the film was a placeholder for the second installment and noted "Lawrence isn't given much opportunity to do anything spectacularly right here."