The Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt. 1

It's been a long, tumultuous journey since that fateful day when Katniss Everdeen volunteered to take her sister's place and first stepped into the arena of the Hunger Games. Since then rebellion has spread among the districts, growing from a glowing ember to a full blown roaring fire. Due to her actions in the arena (as well as a few on the outside), the districts look to Katniss as their symbol of hope, their Mockingjay. Of course, Katniss never wanted any of this. All she could think about was getting her and Peeta Mellark safely out of the arena and to keep her loved ones out of harm's way. As the fires of rebellion spread, the Capitol lashes out at the districts by firebombing several of them in hopes of crushing the rebels. It isn't until Katniss receives word that Peeta has been captured by the Capitol - along with several other victors - that she realizes the only way out of her situation is to lead her people against the Capitol by becoming their symbol: she must become the Mockingjay.

Going in I had really high hopes for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt. 1. As far as the books go, many people (myself included) agree that Mockingjay is the weakest of the three books. When it comes to the movie adaptations, however, it's actually the second best, right behind Catching Fire. The first time I saw it I had several problems with the character development, thinking certain characters didn't get their chance to shine in the spotlight. The second time I saw it, however, I took a closer look at the overall story and the character development wasn't as bad as I had originally thought, but as always there is room for improvement. Unfortunately, with the story being split into two parts, Mockingjay pt. 1 doesn't quite reach the level of intensity and storytelling that Catching Fire does. I did appreciate that the audience was able to see more of both sides of the conflict instead of mainly in Katniss's thoughts of what's going on. The story was able to have a little freedom to explore both sides and get a better feel of the motives of each side. However, I feel like it would have benefitted greatly if it had stayed as a single movie instead of being split up into two. When the credits start rolling the audience is left wanting more, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case it does slightly take away from the experience of watching Mockingjay unfold onscreen. While I won't give away any details, the point in which the story gets split up results in some pretty cool visuals. The cinematography throughout the film is pretty neat as well.

To sum it all up, I wasn't completely blown away like I was expecting to be, yet neither was I disappointed. Catching Fire is still the best in terms of story, acting, and cinematography, but Mockingjay pt. 1 comes in at a very close second. I can't wait until next November when Mockingjay pt. 2 comes out.