“In penance for their uprising each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public reaping. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight to the death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games.”
Now that all four films are out on UHD Blu-ray in glorious 4K, we have the opportunity to view them all again from the very beginning. It’s easier to catch the subtle nuances that were planted in the earlier films that would pay off over the four-film run. It took us four years to do that originally. Now you can do it in a day. Gino Sassani takes us on the next part of that journey with The Hunger Games The Mockingjay Part 1 (2014).
“All we need now is the perfect message.”
It has almost become expected. When a successful franchise based on a series of books reaches the end of the published material, studios start to think about the approaching end with some dread. One way to put off the inevitable is to split the final book into two films. It worked for Harry Potter and Twilight. Peter Jackson managed to squeeze three long films out of one Tolkien book. For most of these cases it was a severe case of milking those final chapters for all that they’re worth and then going beyond that. That’s simply not the case with Mockingjay Part I. The book itself has two very distinctive parts, and telling this story in a single film would not have done justice to the material. Trust me when I tell you that you’ll feel like you’ve gotten a complete story, but one that has more story left to tell. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I is the beginning of a payoff that has been promised since the first film debuted just two years ago. Yes, any film that contains Part I in the title might appear a little intimidating with promises of an untold story and a portent to a feeling of dissatisfaction. Don’t let any of that keep you from the best film in the franchise. Take the risk. You’ll be well rewarded for your two-hour investment.
Mockingjay Part I picks up pretty shortly after the end of Catching Fire. Katniss (Lawrence) has been taken to the surviving camp of District 13, long believed destroyed. They have established a base underground where the revolution has been gaining steam since long before Katniss and her own acts of rebellion. Here they are led by their own President Coin (Moore), and gamesmaster Plutarch (Hoffman) serves as her chief advisor. They had hoped to use Katniss as the face of the revolution, but she’s not so sure. Katniss is suffering nightmares and is far more interested in getting Peeta (Hutcherson) back from his captivity in the Capitol. Still, they attempt to shape their message with staged videos that can be leaked to the other districts to inspire others to join the fight. Katniss isn’t handling it so well. The whole thing has a Wag the Dog feel to it until Haymitch (Harrelson) convinces them that it all needs to be real. After a visit to the devastation that was once her home in District 12 and the bombing of a field hospital in another District, Katniss allows that inner hero to emerge, and the rebellion is on. It’s a nice coincidence that Woody Harrelson was a part of Wag the Dog and almost appears here to teach these revolutionaries the lesson from that film. His part is rather small, but it’s certainly pivotal, particularly in how it wakes up the hero in Katniss.
The film brings back many of the franchise’s popular characters. Jeffrey Wright returns as Beetee. Remember that he’s the guy who wants to fry the bad guys in the games in Catching Fire. Now he’s the rebellion’s version of Bond’s Q. He’s developed some cool weapons for Katniss to go along with the uniform/costume developed for her. He’s also the tech wizard trying to infiltrate the Capitol’s signals. In the Capitol, Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta is being used as a propaganda tool by Donald Sutherland’s desperate President Snow to counter Katniss’s impact. There are too many good performances to rate here. Imagine that. A big fantasy f/x film that delivers wonderful character moments and subtle but powerful performances. You don’t have to imagine. Mockingjay Part I will give you more than a fleeting glimpse of what that looks like.
Sam Claflin returns as Finnick. Liam Hemsworth gets a larger role as Gale, who is becoming quite the revolutionary. Even Elizabeth Banks gets to create a toned-down version of Effie, who must make do without gold trim or wigs and has to go with the dreaded jumpsuit look. It’s one of those small but effective nuances of the film that shows a tremendous character evolution to these faces.
The most important thing to know about Mockingjay Part I is that the tone is quite different than the two previous outings. I’m happy to say that the titular games themselves are not a part of the film. It’s somewhat ironic that I’ve found those to be the weakest parts of both the first two movies. This movie delves completely into the geopolitics of this world like never before. Fans expecting huge battles will be disappointed. This revolution is more about the chess game of moves and countermoves. It’s a battle first for the hearts and minds of the rest of the population that matters here, and it’s this that makes Mockingjay Part I such a compelling story.
That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of action. The huge set pieces exist more to accent the emotional beats. We see the results of the carnage and not so much the acts themselves. These are what serve to bring out the hero in Katniss, and the film allows its special effects and big-budget bang to take us to that same place emotionally. The beauty here is that these huge moments remain ingrained in our memories long after the adrenaline rush is over. It’s forward-thinking moviemaking here at its best. This is one of the best examples you’ll find of using cutting edge f/x to enhance the story instead of serving as a distraction, or even worse, existing as the entire reason for seeing the film at all.
Nowhere is the change in tone more apparent than in the returning character of Caesar Flickerman, played by the wonderfully talented Stanley Tucci. The previous films had Tucci reaching for those manic over-the-top moments at almost every turn. Who can forget that showmanship laugh and used-car-salesman demeanor? His limited screentime here is incredibly understated. He’s quiet, almost somber and thoughtful in his speech. It’s a perfect underscore to how much things have changed from one movie to the next. This is no longer the same world, and it’s so important that the films reflect that reality. I love character moments where one sees the change. I call them Al Pacino/Michael Corleone moments. This entire movie is one of those moments. Everyone and everything has changed, and the best thing Mockingjay Part I does is make that as clear as possible without ever having to beat you over the head with the themes.
Director Francis Lawrence trusts his audience, a rare trait today. He has faith that you’ll pick up on the shift in mood and tone. He expects you to understand the themes and ideals behind the revolution without having to remind you every five minutes. He lets the characters tell the story and trusts you, the viewer, to keep up. There aren’t twenty speeches about the inequality of the society. There isn’t a ton of exposition to remind you who the bad guys are, why they’re bad, and by the way why they should remind you of one political party or the other in today’s life. Judge the film by the actions, and reward Lawrence for trusting you all the way. Some will be disappointed and complain that there wasn’t enough action or that it was too slow in parts. OK, so maybe some of these directors who feel the need to hit you over the head (Sorkin) have a point. Nah. I’d rather dismiss those folks as just having attended the wrong movie. Don’t dumb this stuff down for those folks. Put a joystick in their hand and leave them alone.
The film does a pretty good job of exploring the idea of historical perspective. The difference between a rebellion and a revolution all depends on which side of the conflict you find yourself. I’m a history teacher, and I have a copy of a British school textbook which quite prominently describes the events of 1776 as the Colonial Rebellion. You might know it better as the American Revolution. After 200+ years, children are still taught to view these events in rather starkly conflicting terms.
Video
The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part 1 is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The ultra-high-definition image is arrived at by an HEVC codec. With such a visual franchise you would expect this ultra-high-definition image presentation to shine. You would be correct up to a point. Lionsgate made a serious fatal flaw in this franchise for 4K release. They included the feature-length bonus material on the 4K disc. That takes up serious space and bit-rate. So you end up with a film that is a definite improvement over the Blu-ray, but not likely as much as it could have been. Colors are much more drab in this film. Much of it occurs either in the colorless underground bunkers of District 13 or the bombed-out ruins of other parts of the country. There are moments were colors are allowed to pop, but this is where texture and depth would have been more important. There’s still a nice sharpness to the film, and black levels appear to be slightly improved here.
Audio
The Dolby Atmos presentation defaults to a nice 7.1. The audio presentation does not suffer from the crowded disc space. This film is a more intimate and close film. The score doesn’t ring out quite as much, nor should it. Dialog is absolutely essential here, and it comes through perfectly. The surrounds reflect the close quarters, and the subs deliver when things come crashing to the ground.
There is an Audio Commentary with Director Francis Lawrence and Producer Nina Jacobson.
Special Features
The World Mockingjay Lives – Making of the Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part 1: (2:14:19) While this really should have been on its own disc, this feature is almost as long as the film itself and goes into every aspect of the film you could ever want. There’s a ton of participation from cast and crew with a ton of behind-the-scenes footage. There are eight parts with a play-all option. This is what features should be. Don’t make me work to see a few minutes at a time. Other studios need to take note here.
It just shouldn’t have been on the 4K disc.
Straight From The Heart – A Tribute To Phillip Seymour Hoffman: (11:03) This is a nice tribute to the late actor. There is some rehearsal footage, and the cast and crew share their memories of working with him.
Deleted Scenes: (11:18) There are nine with a play-all option.
Songs Of The Rebellion – Lorde on Curating the Soundtrack: (8:10) The singer talks about doing the end credits song and putting together a collection of songs for a soundtrack of sorts.
Final Thoughts:
It’s hard not to be conscious of the fact that this is the last complete film for actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He’ll be in the next film, but there were scenes he had yet to film. How they’ll deal with that we will soon know. His part is vital here, and it will be a strong exit for the actor and his legacy. Now that we’ve set the proper emotional tone, I suspect that next year we’ll get to see the real fight. I’m sure it will be spectacular visually but with the added advantage to having been properly set up. November 2015 is a long way to go. Waiting is going to be the hardest part of this film. “It’s the worst torture in the world, waiting when there’s nothing you can do.”
