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| Courtesy of Lionsgate |
From
a financial standpoint, I understand a studio’s desire to milk one of their
most successful franchises for as long as possible. But from an artistic
perspective, I’m getting really tired of movies with fractured final
installments. The Harry Potter series launched the trend, Twilight continued it, and now The Hunger Games is following suit. It’s not nearly as
frustrating as turning The Hobbit into a 10-hour epic, but it’s still a pain.
That’s
because Mockingjay, the third novel in the wildly popular series by Suzanne
Collins, is the most divisive, as well as the most lightweight in terms of
narrative. Don’t get me wrong – it’s got a bold, bleak conclusion that’s
appropriate for a story about a dystopian future in which children are
routinely murdered and sadistic leaders stay in power thanks to the
effectiveness of televised propaganda.
But
there’s also a lot of sitting around in underground bunkers waiting for the
action to start, and an unwelcome return of the “which boy is she going to
choose?” drama that’s pervasive in the young adult genre. It’s particularly annoying
in a series where the female protagonist is so much more compelling than her
mopey male counterparts.
While
reading it, I honestly wondered how filmmakers could stretch it into a two-hour
movie, let alone double that running time. After watching Mockingjay – Part
1, the answer is clear: by giving supporting characters a lot more to do. It’s
a shrewd idea, especially when the ensemble cast includes Donald Sutherland,
Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright and the late,
dearly missed Philip Seymour Hoffman, all of whom turn in stellar performances.
But
Jennifer Lawrence remains the star of these films, and for good reason: she’s
an amazing actress. It’s easy to lose sight of that when pop culture obsesses
over her fun, adorably dorky talk show appearances, or the unfortunate, repugnant
theft of her intensely private photos. For me, all that got brushed aside with
the opening scene of Mockingjay – Part 1, in which we find her character,
Katniss Everdeen, in the middle of a nervous breakdown.
At
this point, any attempt to bring newcomers up to speed would be futile. So I’ll
just say Katniss is in bad shape after the traumatic events of Catching Fire. Her friend Peeta (Josh Hutcherson, doing strong work despite limited screen
time) has been captured by the totalitarian Capitol, and she has no clue
whether he’s alive or dead. Her former hometown has been bombed into oblivion,
and the country is on the brink of all-out civil war.
All
pretense of using the horrific Hunger Games to keep the various districts
cowering in fear is gone. Katniss, her family, and her allies are now based out
of the militarized District 13, where they are involved in an effort to bring
down the Capitol once and for all.
As
you’d imagine from a movie with “Part 1” in the title, the table is set, the
stakes are established and the story gets you ramped up for the big battle.
Then you have to wait until next Thanksgiving to see how things wrap up. It’s
maddening, but the aggravated groans I heard when the screen went black are
also evidence of a tale well-told, one that draws viewers into this bleak world
and makes them invest in these characters.
A
few wobbly CGI shots aside, director Francis Lawrence does a remarkable job of
creating environments that are much different than the other two films, yet
equally compelling. Screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong deliver
commendable adaptation work as well, fleshing out Collins’ novel and tweaking some
of the more problematic elements.
We’ll
have to wait until next year to see if they stick the landing, but there’s a
good chance of this series becoming the rare cinematic adaptation that improves
on the source material. With these actors, this production team and a whopper
of an ending on the way, 52 weeks is a long time to wait.
Mockingjay - Part 1 is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material.
Grade: Incomplete
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