The first of the two-part Mockingjay film in the Hunger Games franchise begins in a rebel base in the dystopian District 13, where the heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is being detained. District president, Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), is hoping to bring together the remaining districts in order to overtake the capital city and rid Panem of its dictator, President Snow, starred by Donald Sutherland.
Jennifer Lawrence plays the leading role and her strong presence brings a vital contribution to the film. However, all characters played a decisive role to the unfolding of this space-age war plot, which ends as a straight up political thriller. The movie, which is dedicated to Philip Seymour Hoffmanan, is an unbelievable success. Mockingjay Part 1 is the beginning of the end of Katniss’ saga.
The films’ bloody nature dominates the plot-line with scenes of murder and war, but it does not lack humour, love and friendship. Despite glimpses of compassion in the film, it feels like the love triangle of Katniss, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) was forgotten by director Francis Lawrence, and trivial scenes of Gale and Katniss were thrown in as fillers instead.
There is less action in The Hunger Games this time around, but the acting by Elizabeth Banks who plays Effie Trinket, the fashionista chaperone now deprived of wigs, makeup and accessories, is done in an extremely funny way that brings heart and personality to the character and speaks volumes of her journey in the saga.
The short plot-line seems to have been spread out sparingly over the two hour run-time of the film and just as the film begins to catch the viewer’s interest , it comes to a sudden halt, leaving fans shouting at the screen. Without giving anything away, the pause button has been pushed with a tormenting accuracy, teasing fans for another year.
Megan Kelly 
Plamedi Mbungu 
Anize Keers