‘Mockingjay’ is Best ‘Games’ Yet
Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as Katniss Everdeen in the latest installment of the ‘Hunger Games’ series. VPC
In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, Katniss Everdeen comes off like a cross between Che Guevara and Joan of Arc as she blossoms into a full-fledged leader of a revolution.
She’s still an ace archer, but her status as a compassionate warrior catapults her from being the symbol of the rebellion to spearheading the fight against the totalitarian regime that controls their universe — once North America, now known as Panem.
This third Hunger installment (***½ out of four; rated PG-13; opens Thursday in select cities and Friday nationwide) is a nimbly constructed action-adventure blockbuster with a social conscience. It deepens the characters and further invests the audience in the saga of Katniss and her competing love interests, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth).
As an adaptation of part of the third book by Suzanne Collins, it’s easily the most political of the three films. It also is the most absorbing and best in the series. Last year’s Catching Fire felt like more of the same from 2012’s original Hunger Games, presenting more contests to the death among young “tributes” for the amusement of the powers that be. But this sequel burrows deeper into the concept of revolution.
‘Mockingjay’ lands in Los Angeles
The world is controlled by President Snow (Donald Sutherland), who issues orders for public executions, mass slaughters and air strikes on rebel districts while ensconced in his elegant mansion in the ultra-decadent Capitol.
Jennifer Lawrence reveals greater depth and emotional layers as rebel leader Katniss. and is bolstered by powerhouse supporting performances. New to the dystopian franchise, Julianne Moore plays District 13 President Alma Coin with just the right blend of stern authority and humanity. Her right-hand man is the once-sinister, now-wearied Plutarch Heavensbee, played perfectly by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is embroiled in the revolution in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1.’
While the first film showed the power of propaganda, as cleverly put forth by Snow, Mockingjay explores it more fully. The universe is in a state of oppression and wretched despair. Civil unrest had grown in the last saga and reaches new heights here.
A ragtag filmmaking crew led by Cressida (Natalie Dormer) follows Katniss and simply records her mushrooming anger as she surveys the devastation in her own district and others. A scene in which she visits a makeshift hospital for those severely wounded by the airstrikes in the Capitol is a key moment. This is not post-apocalyptic fantasy. It feels much more like a war movie than the previous films and has a timeliness lacking in the others.
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Jessica and Ashlee Simpson lead mighty family affair at ‘Mockingjay’ premiere
Lawrence has always been perfect in the part. With anyone else in the lead role, the franchise might have faltered. But she brings an authenticity that’s striking. She’s the classic reluctant hero.
More thoughtful and less action-packed, Mockingjay also is subtly funny. Elizabeth Banks as fashionista Effie Trinket provides some of the funnier one-liners, as does Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch Abernathy, who shows up late in the game.
A well-crafted emotional cliffhanger concludes this third part of the four-part series, upping the suspense and whetting the appetite for next year’s Part 2.
