Commentary by Cait Buckalew, Campus Carrier Entertainment Editor

The next installment of “The Hunger Games” trilogy, “Mockingjay: Part 1,” premiered on Nov. 21. The story begins following the aftermath of the 75th Annual Hunger Games and the destruction of District 12.  Katniss Everdeen finds herself in the sequestered District 13, headed by President Alma Coin. With the help of ex-head gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee, Coin informs Katniss that she is to be the face of the rebellion of Panem – the Mockingjay. While she accepts this fate, Katniss struggles with the loss of her home and Peeta, as well as the trauma of the Games, all while leading the rebellion against President Snow and the Capitol.

Of the three “Hunger Games” movies thus far, “Mockingjay” takes its rank in the middle of the three regarding book-to-movie adaptations, with “Catching Fire” leading as one of the best book-to-movie adaptations ever made. While “Mockingjay” stays true to the book, it lacks the excitement and balance that “Catching Fire” brought to theaters. The movie manages to capture the pacing of the story, which unfortunately does not translate very well to the screen.  With the seemingly random ups and downs of the action that takes place, it is clear that this movie is leading up to something much bigger in “Mockingjay: Part 2.”

Photos courtesy of IMDB Top: Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence portray characters Gale and Katniss walking into District 8 in “Mockingjay: Part 1.”  Bottom left: Josh Hutcherson’s character Peeta gives an interview for broadcast in Panem.  Bottom right: Donald Sutherland returns as Panem’s President Snow.

Surprisingly, the special effects in this movie were minimal considering the dystopian world the story is set in. With the exception of a few major explosions and some hovercrafts, there was not much to suspend belief for, and a majority of the scenes take place in the confines of District 13. Whoever was in charge of creating the world of the district did a spectacular job of translating from the book to the movie, and it was very interesting to see the evolution from the calm and easygoing District 12 in the first installment of the trilogy to the militarized and strict universe of District 13.

While the pacing of “Mockingjay” fell short compared to “Catching Fire” and “The Hunger Games,” the acting is some of the best that has come from the series thus far. Julianne Moore, who brings a fresh face to the ever-intimidating and authoritative character, plays President Alma Coin. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman makes another appearance as Plutarch Heavensbee, who expectedly portrays Plutarch’s subtle manipulations and intelligence appropriately. Donald Sutherland reprises his role as President Snow with a new terror that stems from his ruthless actions, all the while still looking like a harmless grandfather. Liam Hemsworth’s portrayal of the stoic Gale Hawthorne is spot on, though it does not come as a surprise considering Gale’s emotional capacity compares to that of a rock, something that Hemsworth manages to capture perfectly.  Haymitch Abernathy returns as well, played by Woody Harrelson, who introduces a new side of the lovable drunk on account of his newfound sobriety during the rebellion.  Harrelson’s portrayal of Haymitch in this film shows a more fatherly, comforting figure to Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss, while still managing to keep that sassy element of Haymitch.

Though he only appears in a few scenes, Josh Hutcherson packs a punch as Peeta Mellark with his tear-jerking interviews from the Capitol.  The real star of the film, however, is Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, which comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. She does an incredible job of showing Katniss’s struggles with the trauma of the games as well as her adjustment to District 13, and even brings a charm to the character with Katniss’s inability to put on a show for the cameras. Lawrence’s performance truly shines when Katniss is put in the heart of the rebellion in District 8, and her delivery of the iconic “If we burn, you burn with us,” speech is as powerful on screen as it reads in the book. Additionally, Hutcherson and Lawrence manage to have enough chemistry to carry the rest of the cast, despite only having one actual scene together. The film is extremely well-casted, considering the acting is one of the best things that carry the otherwise uneventful story.

While this film was a fair installment to the already established movie series, it lacked a certain fire that the previous movies have. If you are not familiar with the book series and only have knowledge from the previous movies, you will probably be disappointed with this film. However, as someone who loves this book series even after all of the hype, I would recommend seeing this in theaters because if anything, at least we know what is coming next.