THE HUNGER GAMES MOCKINGJAY PT 1 REVIEW

"The Hunger Games, Mockingjay part 1," stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hensworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Sam Clafflin, Natalie Dormer, Juliane Moore, and Philip Seymore Hoffman. Its the 3rd movie out of the 4 Hunger movies. And while the franchise is incredibly successful, with the first two movies grossing hundred of millions, I am annoyed they felt the need to break this third story into two parts. The book does not warrant that kind of effort, and so it smacks of hollywood greed. And "Mockingjay," I would tell you is the most boring of the three books as it is the only one without a games, so there fore, the stakes are not nor do not seem as high. But lets get to the story.

"Mockingjay" starts where, "Catching Fire," left off. A PTSD ridden Katniss having nightmares about the games and leaving Peta behind. With the careful manipulation of the people around her, she agrees to be the face of the revolution. It means shes required to shoot commercials that will be broadcast  in the other districts in the hopes of rallying the people.  I do like this film, but its my least favorite out of the franchise. It has cutting room floor issues... there were at least four scenes that should have been shorter. The script chose some sections of the book that I don't think served the story. And where the ended, while obvious, left a somewhat scary feel to the film. And not in that "Luke I am your father!" kind of way. They should've just made this into one film! However.... The acting is really good. Lawrence, Hutcherson and Hemsworth are all terrific, with Donald Sutherland giving a particularly creepy performance, and Philip Seymore Hoffmann giving one of his last performances. You watch knowing he's gone, and it lends a little saddness to the film.

THE VERDICT
"The Hunger Games, Mockingjay PT. 1," Has some issues with editing, and some of the writing, but for the most part, is a worthy addition to the story franchise. I just wish they hadn't split it, and we didn't have to wait a whole year for part 2. I give it a B.