The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) Directed by Francis Lawrence; Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth Rating: 6/10 With the presumably thrilling conclusion to The Hunger Games series just over the horizon, we return to last year’s Mockingjay – Part 1 in an attempt for my reviews to maintain at least some contemporary relevance. There are two ways to look at a film which is part of a series. One is to view it as a chapter in the larger story, making this one little more than the calm before the storm. The other way is to see if the narrative works as a standalone film, and sadly here it does not. The Hunger Games has followed the now ‘traditional’ trend of turning the last part of a young adult novel series into a two part picture ( Harry Potter , Twilight , to an extent The Hobbit ) so that Part 1 becomes so much preamble and set-up for a ‘missing’ final act. Is it a cynical cash-grab to stretch the franchise out for another year...
