Mockingjay Part 1 is not a flawless story from start to finish ... but I still love it for taking the unexpected route of a slow-burn political thriller that dives deeper into the power of intellectual and media-driven warfare.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 4, 2024

... director Francis Lawrence... and screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong turn out a surprisingly engaging film about rebellion, propaganda, media, and the emotional and psychological scars of war...

| Apr 8, 2023

Set aside criticisms about dividing the final film. Mockingjay Part 1 is a serviceable extrapolation of the series' interest in personal vs public responsibility & PTSD. The adult cast is stacked, though dir Lawrence's focus is clearly action over actors

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 27, 2022

There are enjoyable moments, good characters, strong performances, and the knowledge that this is just a set-up to what should be an action-packed final film. But as a single standalone movie, I was definitely hoping for more.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 21, 2022

Director Lawrence doesn’t disappoint in elevating the series as a whole with this political-minded entry.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 18, 2022

"Lawrence is simply marvelous again and delivers a surprisingly beautiful vocal performance that demonstrates her well-rounded talent as a performer."

| Jun 30, 2022

There was no need for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay to be split into two different films...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 23, 2022

Is Katniss Everdeen a hero? For most of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, the sequel grapples with this very question a refreshing question that most gigantic blockbusters are afraid to ask.

| Feb 11, 2022

[Mockingjay: Part 1] may lack some of the heavy action of its previous counterparts, but brings with it an inevitable and emotional evolution into a more mature story.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 9, 2021

The cinematic world created in the first two movies is about to change in very dramatic ways and this movie prepares viewers for the revolution.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 2, 2021

The entire picture is simply a glimpse of grander events to come and a set-up for pathos and an eventual, epic culmination.

| Original Score: 3/10 | Dec 4, 2020

It lacks the cohesive action and compelling spirit so evident in the first two films.

| Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Sep 11, 2020

Since this is a 'Part 1 of 2,' it makes it difficult to address in a review. The problem with splitting a film into two pieces is you only get to see part of the whole.

| Original Score: B- | Jul 17, 2020

Despite never reading the books, the greatest appeal about The Hunger Games franchise is that while it's aimed at a young teenage audience...there's enough material and context that makes it satisfying for adults.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 16, 2020

While this can be entertaining to watch, and there are nice bits of spectacle level eye candy, including the destruction of a massive damn, the problem is that the film never becomes more than simply the first part in a larger saga.

| Original Score: C+ | Jul 7, 2020

'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1', the first part of the trilogy finale, is an impassive, mature, and sometimes dramatic sci-fi blockbuster. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 26, 2020

The director and writers don't have to cram so many plot incidents from the dense source material into a regulation-sized movie, and so they are able to stretch out and focus on their greatest strength: Lawrence.

| Jan 9, 2020

Enjoy Mockingjay - Part One for the function it serves to set up the finale, and let's look forward to Mockingjay - Part Two. I think a year from now, hindsight will prove that we were all satisfied with The Middle Middle Child.

| Dec 16, 2019

Although solidly packaged with, for the most part, solid performances, Mockingjay Part 1 feels restrained. The exuberance and anticipatory excitement within both 'The Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire' is missing here.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 14, 2019

Without the hook of its titular games in the mix, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, plays like a rote dystopian thriller.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 27, 2019