hunger games part 1 movie review

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Jennifer Lawrence's charisma and the the sly excellence of her supporting cast keep "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1" aloft. This third installment in the "Hunger Games" saga (technically chapter three, part one) is a bleak, sometimes dire experience, and not only because it's the darkest installment yet in an already dark saga, catching dystopian rebels in a beaten-down and demoralized state. As written by regular series scribes Peter Craig and Danny Strong , and as directed by Frances Lawrence (who helmed the second film in the series, "Hunger Games: Catching Fire"), it also feels a bit stretched out, not to give the actors room to breathe and widen the film's narrative margins to better pack them with detail, but because that's how Hollywood increasingly does big budget "event" franchises these days: chopping one volume into two or three, a la "Harry Potter" or "The Hobbit," to satisfy the most literal-minded readers by dramatizing as many scenes as possible, and to sell more tickets.

When the story begins, our heroes have literally been driven underground. Hunger Games champion Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) survived multiple iterations of the books' nationally televised, gladiator-styled, bread-and-circuses reality show, then was cynically positioned by the evil President Snow ( Donald Sutherland ) as a false figure of inspiration. She became the real thing thanks to her indomitable spirit, plus clever plotting by rebel fighters and image manipulators, including Katniss's once-drunk and now sober mentor, Haymitch ( Woody Harrelson ); the propagandist and image consultant Plutarch (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, to whom the film is dedicated); the tech genius Betee (Jeffrey Wright), and the image wizard (and ace comic relief) Effie Trinket ( Elizabeth Banks ).

"Mockingjay, Part 1" picks up where "Catching Fire" left off, with Katniss, rescued from Quarter Quell, living in a compound under the rubble of District 13 with her fellow insurrectionists. Led by their intrepid district president Coin ( Julianne Moore , sporting a frosted 'do and a severe demeanor), our heroes endure attacks by Snow's planes and troops while plotting their next righteous move. Of course, Katniss is also supported and pined-after by her loyal right-hand, Gale Hawthorne ( Liam Hemsworth ), even as she frets over the fate of her great love, the still-milquetoast Peeta ( Josh Hutcherson ), who's being held hostage by Snow's forces and turned into an anti-Katniss propaganda tool, denouncing our heroine on national TV in order to legitimize his puppet masters.

If " The Hunger Games " films were to be compared structurally to "Star Wars"—still the commercial Holy Grail of film franchises—you might say that this one is the first half of " The Empire Strikes Back ," with emphasis on the visually and drastically oppressive Hoth sequences. The plot takes us from from setback to setback to setback until we feel suffocated (on purpose). Snow has the overwhelming military advantage, and in a couple of effective action scenes, we get the sense of just how long the rebels' odds of victory are. The best of these depicts an aerial assault that's filmed mostly from ground level, envisioning Snow's warplanes as chunky blurs that can corner in midair, like gulls. 

There's also a mild strain of media criticism and satire, though this time out it's less focused on the puerile distractions of televised mayhem and more interested in the construction of political images. Like the other films in the series, this "Hunger Games" sequel is good at evoking present-day, real-world phenomena while coyly refusing to commit to any specific allegory. A full-on, deliberately suicidal assault on a heavily armed government target faintly echoes images of nonviolent resistance from the Indian uprising against the British and the American Civil Rights movement, up to the point when the advancing rebels quit absorbing punishment and start dishing it out. Katniss is sold to the like-minded as a Che Guevara or young Fidel Castro (or perhaps a video-taunting Al Qaeda or ISIS-type, though of course Western audiences would rather not consider things from that angle). A good portion of the film's first half is about Katniss being shaped and sold and even packaged by Coin and her allies as a sort of pre-fabricated deliverer, the Mickey Mouse or Mr. Clean of the revolution, then rebelling against this tendency and figuring out (with help from Plutarch) that in revolution, as in advertising, authenticity sells better than slickness.

The problem is, for all its surface intelligence, "Mockingjay, Part 1" has little depth, and that sometimes makes it much more frustrating than a more knowingly shallow and silly movie might have been. One sometimes gets the sense that the moviemakers want credit for more political daring (in a mainstream blockbuster) than they're actually willing to earn. There are many tantalizing and even powerful allusions, such as Katniss addressing her public while standing in a cityscape bombarded by Snow's forces, a scene that evokes pro-Palestinian camera crews showcasing collateral damage from Israeli airstrikes; but these are never developed beyond the barest wisp of a notion, and they sit quite awkwardly next to all the film's narrative cliches and emotional shortcuts: the scene where the excessively "packaged" icon throws away the script and speaks from the heart; the scene where the powerful old bad guy is being shaved with a straight razor and gets nicked and treats the wound as a metaphor; etc. 

Katniss's participation in a chaste and (seemingly deliberately) dull love triangle with two young men of negligible charisma seems intended to build her up and ensure that no one can steal the main character's spotlight; there's a "turnabout is fair play" aspect to this, and at times it plays like the long delayed answer to those '70s films driven by super-capable male characters, often played by Paul Newman or Robert Redford or Al Pacino , whose love interests were simpering bores. Katniss is such a powerful character, so strong and simple, that she wouldn't be diminished by playing opposite more interesting romantic leads. As is, she's like Scarlett O'Hara opposite two Ashley Wilkeses. The blandness of the film's romantic energy might not seem so glaring if this particular installment didn't find Katniss in a state of vulnerability, recuperating from physical and emotional damage; she's much more passive here than in previous installments (which is true to the novel, I'm told), but it's still frustrating to see her reduced to a bystander during the film's action climax, watching heroic guys doing heroic things on TV monitors.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film credits.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material

123 minutes

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark

Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy

Donald Sutherland as President Snow

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee

Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin

Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen

Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair

Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket

Mahershalalhashbaz Ali as Boggs

Robert Knepper as Antonius

Lily Rabe as Commander Lyme

Evan Ross as Messalla

Jeffrey Wright as Beetee

Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman

Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith

Jena Malone as Johanna Mason

• Francis Lawrence
• Peter Craig
• Danny Strong
• Suzanne Collins

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The hunger games: mockingjay, part 1, common sense media reviewers.

Melancholy, violent sequel sets stage for waging war.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Many thought-provoking messages/themes about varyi

Katniss continues to want to save others, particul

No more Games (which means no kids killing kids),

Less romance than in previous installments; Katnis

No product placements in the movie, but distributo

Adults consume unspecified drinks at a Capitol eve

Parents need to know that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is the penultimate and most political installment to date in the four-part adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling dystopian trilogy. Rather than surviving an ultraviolent reality competition, the storyline (which was divisive among readers)…

Positive Messages

Many thought-provoking messages/themes about varying styles of government, the importance of symbols to causes and movements, the role of media in unifying people around a cause, and the way love can cloud all other thoughts except the safety of those you hold most dear. Courage, perseverance, and self-control are themes. May spark conversation on everything from politics to feminism to the use of media and propaganda during times of war.

Positive Role Models

Katniss continues to want to save others, particularly Peeta; she makes sure to negotiate his safety in return for her allegiance to the rebel cause. Peeta wants to help Katniss and goes against Snow's orders to help give her a message. Gale believes in the revolution but is willing to put himself in danger to give Katniss what she wants. Finnick is focused on the love of his life's well being, and Haymitch shows Katniss that their friendship means a great deal to him.

Violence & Scariness

No more Games (which means no kids killing kids), but the violence is still realistic and disturbing: the bones of dead District 12 victims are shown up close; a makeshift hospital burns down; rebel fighters kill armed Peacekeepers and vice versa; dead District 8 residents rot on the floor of a hospital; Peacekeepers execute traitors to the Capitol; the Capitol bombs different Districts. Peeta looks starved and tortured. A character tries to choke Katniss.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Less romance than in previous installments; Katniss kisses Gale once, and Finnick and Annie share a kiss.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

No product placements in the movie, but distributor Lionsgate has partnerships with Doritos, Mazda, and Whole Foods Market’s Whole Planet Foundation, and other companies to sell Hunger Games -themed food, apparel, video games, and more.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults consume unspecified drinks at a Capitol event. Medical workers give Katniss and others sedatives.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is the penultimate and most political installment to date in the four-part adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling dystopian trilogy . Rather than surviving an ultraviolent reality competition, the storyline (which was divisive among readers) is about starting a revolution and taking down the Capitol. While there's much less hand-to-hand fighting -- and no kids killing kids -- the violence can still be intense and upsetting (Katniss spends a big portion of the film crying), with shots of skeletal remains, dead and severely wounded citizens, the execution of traitors to the Capitol, the bombing of District 13, the burning of a makeshift hospital, and more. Fans of the book may remember that although Katniss is preoccupied with Peeta in the first half of Mockingjay , there's little romance except for a brief kiss with Gale and a reunion kiss between two other characters. Even more than the previous films, Mockingjay is full of compelling talking points about media, war, socialism, tyranny, women's roles, and the idea that people need a symbol, to rally around and have faith in during difficult times. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (19)
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Based on 19 parent reviews

The Quality We have Come to Expect

Appropriate or not, what's the story.

At the end of Catching Fire , Katniss Everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence ) fired an arrow right into the heart of the Capitol by destroying the Arena. In MOCKINGJAY, PART 1, she wakes up disoriented in the secret, underground District 13, which is led by President Alma Coin ( Julianne Moore ). Distraught that President Snow ( Donald Sutherland ) has taken Peeta ( Josh Hutcherson ) hostage, Katniss agrees to become the symbolic face of the rebellion once President Coin promises to rescue and pardon Peeta and two other surviving Victors. Plutarch (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman ) arranges for director Cressida (Natalie Dormer) to shoot a series of propaganda videos starring Katniss in full Mockingjay mode. As she visits the other rebelling Districts and her own decimated District 12, Katniss realizes the Capitol must be destroyed -- but not until Peeta is safe from Snow's pathological control.

Is It Any Good?

There's a dark, melancholy tone to this movie, but it matches Katniss' state of mind. She's borderline despondent over Peeta's capture and frightened of President Snow's psychological terror campaign against her. She's not the Girl on Fire of the Games; she must become the real heroine of the revolution. Director Francis Lawrence continues to prove his commitment to making adaptations that are faithful to the spirit of the source material while also introducing changes to enhance the visual and emotional experience for movie-goers who haven't read the books. It was unclear how Mockingjay would work, being divided in two, but the movie succeeds in capturing Katniss' emotional volatility as she goes from Hunger Games Victor to revolutionary symbol -- even if that means it feels like not much happens in this installment compared to the first two films.

As Snow icily tells Katniss, love can destroy you -- and, in this case, Katniss' singular focus on Peeta consumes her to the point of distraction and instability. Lawrence is such a gifted actress that it seems completely authentic that a post-traumatic 17-year-old girl would care more about the one person who kept her sane in her darkest moments in the Arena than she would about furthering Coin's mission (and what a perfect job Moore does of playing the calculating leader). Liam Hemsworth does Gale justice, showing how the intelligent young man is in his element with the rebels of District 13 but also that he loves Katniss so much that he'd be willing to risk his life to save his rival for her affections. Hutcherson isn't on screen all that much compared to the first two films, but when he is, you can't take your eyes off his transformation from the charismatic Boy with the Bread into a starved, wild-eyed hostage. This isn't the sequel you'll want to rewatch again and again, but it does set things up for the final film, when Katniss will have to lead not just the stirrings of rebellion but an actual war.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the political themes in Mockingjay . How does President Coin compare to President Snow? How are their visions for Panem different? What does Katniss want for the people of Panem? Katniss spends a lot of time narrowly focused on Peeta's welfare. Is this believable? How do her relationships change in this installment? How is she different?

How does the violence in this installment compare to the previous ones? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

Why is media and messaging so important to the District 13 cause? What does Plutarch mean when he says Peeta is being used as a symbol, just like Katniss? Do the "propos" capture Katniss' real feelings despite being produced?

How do the characters in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 demonstrate courage , perseverance , and self-control ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Those who are familiar with the book: What did you think of the changes the director and screenwriter made? Did you like where the filmmakers chose to end the first volume?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 21, 2014
• On DVD or streaming : March 6, 2015
• Cast : Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , Liam Hemsworth
• Director : Francis Lawrence
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Book Characters , Great Girl Role Models
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Self-control
• Run time : 123 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material
• Last updated : December 17, 2023

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 Review

By Edward Douglas

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Review: The last time we saw Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, she had just finished the grueling Quarter Quell Hunger Games and had been “saved” by what turns out to be the resistance to the oppressive President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the Capitol. Katniss winds up in District 13, long thought to be destroyed where she’s being groomed by diplomats, including former Capitol speech writer Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the district’s own President Coin (Julianne Moore) to be a figurehead for the revolution. While they retrieve Katniss and District 4’s Finnick (Sam Claflin), her Hunger Games partner and confidante, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), has been taken by the Capitol basically for the same reason, to use him to squelch the rebellion.

There’s something bittersweet about getting the continuation of Katniss’ story so soon after the last chapter, since “Catching Fire’s” cliffhanger ending really left us wanting more. And that’s basically all that we get in what is essentially a transitional film that takes what happened in the Quarter Quell and sets up what will inevitably be an all-out war.

So what do we get this time around? A lot of Katniss moping about being separated from Peeta and getting increasingly more worried whenever he appears on Capitol TV being interviewed by Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman, apparently not in control of what he’s saying. We spend a lot of time in the underground bunker that is District 13 hearing various plans to try to get the word out about the revolution with a few excursions to assay the aftermath of the Quarter Quell and Snow’s violent reaction to Katniss’ betrayal. Most of the resistance’s plans involve Katniss, now known as “The Mockingjay,” whose feisty spirit has become motivation for the other districts to rebel against the Capitol. Getting Katniss out to the public is the main challenge faced by District 13 as they try to capture Katniss in propaganda-like promos or “propos”–let’s face it, names are not Suzanne Collins’ forté–and that’s where Natalie Dormer’s Cressida and her crew come into play.

“Mockingjay” has such a different look and feel than the previous movies, which may be necessary to keep things fresh, but it also has more problems even than the original movie. The main one is Jennifer Lawrence, who tries to change things up to show a different aspect of Katniss, one who has been broken by the Quarter Quell. One would imagine having an Oscar-winning actress like Lawrence in the role would give the role more gravitas and that it would be a cakewalk, which makes it shocking that she has more than a few moments where the acting just isn’t up to snuff. (And we’re not just talking about the moments when Katniss is in front of the camera doing “propos” either.)

Probably one of the best things going for the movie is that there?s a lot more Philip Seymour Hoffman in what is sadly his final performance with many solid scenes between him, Moore and Lawrence. Elizabeth Banks’ Effie Trinket and Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch Abernathy offer some of the film’s only opportunities for levity and they just don’t have very many scenes in this movie. Sam Claflin brings us a very different Finnick than the Cheshire Cat-grinning egomaniac from “Catching Fire,” but he gets little screen time in what is essentially an ensemble piece. Blink and you’ll miss Jena Malone’s Johanna Mason, one of the best additions in the last movie – the new characters played by Dormer and Mahershala Ali, who are on Katniss’ “away team” just don’t have the same spark or energy.

Liam Hensworth’s Gayle, Katniss’ “childhood friend,” is allowed to make up for lost screen time, compared to Josh Hutcherson, who only appears on the screen a few times, though Hemsworth doesn’t use that opportunity to show he’s more than a pretty boy with more sex appeal than Peeta. That’s another problem since there’s been little about Peeta in past movies to make him seem like someone Katniss might choose over Gayle, so it’s hard to understand why she seems so obsessed with his situation.

What you end up with is a lot of big speeches and even more overly-sentimental moments, with little of the excitement, the action or the tension that made the previous “The Hunger Games” so great. Like in the book, there are no actual Hunger Games, and the only attempt at true suspense feels like little more than an extended “Call of Duty” cut sequence.

It’s hard to ignore the obvious, that the two previous books were adapted by experienced Oscar-worthy screenwriters, while “Mockingjay” is written by relative newcomers and it shows, because the writing just isn?t up to the previous standards either. Like the previous movie, the writers do their best to remain faithful to the first part of Collins’ third book, but not a lot happens and then just when things do start happening, the movie ends. To be continued.

The Bottom Line: A disappointing follow-up to “Catching Fire.” You’re left feeling as if you’ve only watched half a movie without the same feeling of anticipation to see what happens next. Essentially, it suffers from the same problem faced by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by forcing us to wait an entire year before learning whether the second half makes up for it.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

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‘the hunger games: mockingjay — part 1’: film review.

Katniss is molded into a revolutionary in this first half of the 'Hunger Games' series' final installment

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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Like an overgrown and bloated trailer for a film yet to come, Francis Lawrence ‘s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 spreads perhaps 45 minutes of dramatic material across two far-too-leisurely hours. The final installment of Suzanne Collins ‘ blockbuster trilogy wasn’t naturally designed to be broken down into two segments. However, after the producers of the Harry Potter and Twilight series doubled their financial pleasure by dividing those series’ climactic stories into two distinct films, how was Lionsgate to resist doing the same with its own gold mine, given that the two previous Katniss chronicles have together grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide?

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It isn’t that it’s disagreeable to be reunited with the resourceful, resilient and attractive characters in this series, especially now that the Hunger Games themselves are history and a revolutionary spirit has seized the downtrodden masses of Panem. This first half of the big-screen version of the oft-derided Mockingjay novel is essentially devoted to the rebel leaders’ efforts to transform Katniss into their standard bearer and make her the focal point of their propaganda. Up to a point, this process is engaging and somewhat amusing, even if a little dialectical montage would have been welcome along the way, just for fun.

The Bottom Line The first half of the final Hunger Games installment is disappointingly bland and unnecessarily protracted 

Unfortunately, Mockingjay — Part 1 has all the personality of an industrial film. There’s not a drop of insolence, insubordination or insurrection running through its veins; it feels like a manufactured product through and through, ironic and sad given its revolutionary theme.

Read more ‘Hunger Games’ Stage Show Set for Summer 2016

Unlike its outdoorsy predecessors, this franchise installment is mostly confined to quarters — notably the secret, bunker-like headquarters of District 13, a hotbed of revolt led by its president, Alma Coin ( Julianne Moore ). In league with turncoat Capitol game-maker Plutarch ( Philip Seymour Hoffman , to whom the film is dedicated) and wheelchair-bound high-tech wiz and hacker Beetee ( Jeffrey Wright ), the president aims to galvanize the surviving citizens of all the districts to overthrow the ever-devious President Snow ( Donald Sutherland ) once and for all.

This state of affairs is new to Katniss ( Jennifer Lawrence , all of 23 when this was shot), who awakens from the trauma of what we saw her endure last year to be faced not only with underground confinement but the apparent betrayal of Peeta ( Josh Hutcherson ). In a series of broadcast interviews with the emotionally manipulative Caesar ( Stanley Tucci ), the unlikely young survivor appears drugged, brainwashed or both as he warns against civil war and urges the rebels to agree to a cease-fire.

Relieved that her friend is still alive but dismayed by his words, Katniss is taken to view the rubble that is her native District 12 in hopes of stoking her revolutionary fervor. By her side again are the ever-ardent Gale ( Liam Hemsworth ); Haymitch ( Woody Harrelson ), now sober and with little to do; and Effie Trinket ( Elizabeth Banks ), whose insatiable need for high style and glamor are amusingly stymied by the militaristic drabness of District 13. Given more opportunity here than in the two previous films, Banks gamely pushes the role into quasi-Oscar Wildean territory.

It’s up to all of these characters to mold Katniss into “the face of the revolution,” and the film’s most entertaining moments portray their efforts to goose, prod and provoke the resourceful warrior into becoming a cross between Joan of Arc and Marianne, France’s symbol of la liberte . It doesn’t come naturally, as Katniss’ initial attempts at inspirational calls to storm the barricades wouldn’t pass muster in a high school play. But the galvanizing moments eventually arrive, as do some testy televised exchanges between Katniss and Snow; the latter may be under assault but always seems to have more cards to play.

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The central challenge faced by new-to-the-series screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong was to bring the story to the brink of the inevitable confrontation between the oppressors and the oppressed. From a dramatic point of view, this would have ideally occupied either the initial third or first half, let’s say, of a 140-minute movie, which would have then continued to accelerate toward cathartic action and ultimate resolution. As things stand, however, audiences are left at the edge of a cliff for another year — until November 2015, to be precise — when Part 2 of Mockingjay will be released.

To be sure, massive audiences will turn out this year as well as next. But far more than with Harry Potter and about the same as with Twilight , this doubling-the-profit gambit feels like a gaming-the-public ploy.

Production companies: Color Force, Lionsgate Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Willow Shields, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone, Mahershala Ali, Natalie Dormer, Wes Chatham, Elden Henson, Paula Malcomson, Evan Ross Director: Francis Lawrence Screenwriters: Peter Craig, Danny Strong, adaptation by Suzanne Collins, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins Producers: Nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik Executive producers: Suzanne Collins, Jan Foster Director of photography: Jo Willems Production designer: Phil Messina Costume designer: Kurt and Bart Editors: Alan Edward Bell, Mark Yoshikawa Music: James Newton Howard Casting: Debra Zane

Rated PG-13, 123 minutes

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“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1” is a worthy third movie in the Suzanne Collins franchise — destined to satisfy the legions of filmgoers willing to swing with a lot of scheming and skulking in an underground bunker resembling the world’s most frightening Marriott, in order to get to the revolution.

The third book in Collins’ dystopian-literature juggernaut has been halved. As such, following the lucrative blueprint of the “Harry Potter” and the “Twilight” film series, this pentultimate “Hunger Games” chapter has what all such films have, namely, a few stretch marks and an ending that goes beyond “cliffhanger.”

And it works. The film works. The scale of these “Hunger Games” dys-lit film adaptations is large but not misjudged, and there’s always a new post-apocalyptic district to explore in detail. From the first, they got the casting so very right with this ongoing project, from Jennifer Lawrence (a crier, but also a fighter, and a fiercely talented performer) on down.

In the second “Hunger Games” movie, directed (as is this new one) with a gravely absorbing air by Francis Lawrence, the fashion-runway frou-frou and hooraw dominated the action to the point of smothering it. All that’s gone. Katniss Everdeen, whose defiance of the dictatorial President Snow has ignited the masses across all the impoverished districts, has become the symbol of the rebellion. “Mockingjay” charts her entry into war, her initially reluctant usefulness as an propaganda tool and her glower of destiny, egged on by close-ups of Donald Sutherland and those evilly arched eyebrows.

“We have a bigger issue than wardrobe,” says Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Plutarch, onetime gamemaker working for the state, now a fellow revolutionary and a kind of image consultant for Katniss. That line, delivered by the late Hoffman (he died during filming of the final “Mockingjay” film) sounds suspiciously like a dig at the flamboyance of the second picture. Now, in the bowels of District 13, all is olive-green and gun-metal grey. Julianne Moore, new to the series, is ramping up the revolution as President Coin, the good president. The underground lair doesn’t do much for the former Hunger Games fashion maven Effie, again played by Elizabeth Banks. She returns to a role that wasn’t originally in the “Mockingjay” novel, and it’s fun to see her at odds with her newfound, inelegant surroundings. “I’m condemned to this life of jumpsuits,” she cracks at one point.

In addition to the casting, another, more elusive component put the “Hunger Games” series on solid ground from the start. Even though “Mockingjay” contains scenes of mass graves and mass slaughter on the battlefield, this isn’t a movie, or a set of characters, built on bloodlust or the enjoyment of anonymous kills. Katniss remains a marvelous shot with a bow and arrow but she’s just a young woman trying to keep what’s left of her family together, and rescue the baker boy Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) from the clutches of Snow. Much of the film is pitched at a conversational hush, so it’s doubly striking when Katniss and Peeta reunite and the results … well, spoiler, so … I’ll shut up.

Not everything in “Mockingjay” is dynamic or remarkable. Director Lawrence, working from Peter Craig and Danny Strong’s screenplay, occasionally mistakes somnambulance for solemnity. But having come through the “Twilight” movies more or less in one piece (not all of them stank, for the record), it’s easy to appreciate how Collins’ world (a bit thin on the page, but irresistible to millions) has been realized on screen. In “Mockingjay,” Plutarch turns our heroine into a movie-style action heroine for the purposes of his revolution marketing campaign, and it’s as if the movie is making fun of its own image in the popular culture. First Katniss was a feral woodland creature; then, in the second movie, she swanned into legend as a flaming fashion star. Now she’s a warrior both for fake and for real, and that double-headed assignment gives Lawrence and company a lot to activate. The series wraps up with the release of “Mockingjay 2” in November 2015. As the old Ira Gershwin lyric put it: Comes the revolution, all is jake / Comes the revolution, we’ll be eating cake.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1” – 3 stars MPAA rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material) Running time: 2:03 Opens: Thursday evening

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The Hunger Games

Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at ran... Read all Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death. Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.

• Suzanne Collins
• Jennifer Lawrence
• Josh Hutcherson
• Liam Hemsworth
• 2.2K User reviews
• 453 Critic reviews
• 68 Metascore
• 34 wins & 49 nominations total

• Katniss Everdeen

• Peeta Mellark

• Gale Hawthorne

• Caesar Flickerman

• Seneca Crane

• Primrose Everdeen

• Effie Trinket

• (as Sandra Lafferty)

• Katniss' Mother

• Registration Woman
• Propaganda Film Tribute

• Peeta's Mother

• Peacekeeper #1

• Peacekeeper #2

• Peacekeeper #3

• Haymitch Abernathy

• Claudius Templesmith

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• Trivia There was a swear jar on the set. Co-writer and director Gary Ross said half of it was contributed by Jennifer Lawrence .
• Goofs (at around 16 mins) After Katniss volunteers for Prim, it shows the crowd putting three fingers over their lips and kissing it as a sign of respect. You can clearly see a man in the crowd wearing black with a camera. This is often mistaken as a goof but remember that the 'Reaping' is being televised across Panem.

Caesar Flickerman : So, Peeta, tell me, is there a special girl back home?

Peeta Mellark : No. No, not really.

Caesar Flickerman : No? I don't believe it for a second. Look at that face. Handsome man like you. Peeta... tell me.

Peeta Mellark : Well, there, uh... there is this one girl that I've had a crush on forever.

Caesar Flickerman : Ah.

Peeta Mellark : But I don't think she actually recognized me until the Reaping.

Caesar Flickerman : Well, I'll tell you what, Peeta. You go out there, and you win this thing, and when you get home, she'll have to go out with you. Right, folks?

Peeta Mellark : Thanks, but I, uh, I don't think winning's gonna help me at all.

Caesar Flickerman : And why not?

Peeta Mellark : Because she came here with me.

• Crazy credits The film opens with a worded passage about the history of the Hunger Games. In the last section, all of the text fades away except for the film's title.
• Alternate versions A rough cut of the film was submitted to the BBFC in the UK for an advisory screening, a process used by filmmakers to see how likely a film will obtain a certain rating. The BBFC explained a 12A rating would be likely if the violence was toned down. Four scenes were changes, removing bloody violence, threat and a scene of injury. These included the use of alternate footage and the digital removal of blood. When the finished film was submitted to the BBFC for a formal classification, the BBFC stated that more cuts would be needed in order to secure the 12A. Blood splashes were digitally removed from both impacts to bodies and blood on blades of weapons, achieved through the darkening of certain shots and by digitally erasing blood from the image. The BBFC then gave the film a 12A rating for cinema release. This pre-cut version was released on DVD in the UK with a 12 rating. However, the US PG-13 version was submitted to the BBFC for the UK Blu-ray release, which was classified '15' uncut.
• Connections Featured in Side by Side (2012)
• Soundtracks Deep in the Meadow (Lullaby) Lyrics by Suzanne Collins Music by T Bone Burnett and Simone Burnette Performed by Jennifer Lawrence and Willow Shields

User reviews 2.2K

• Oct 8, 2012
• Where are the other continents
• Wasnt Katniss supposed to be the first winner of District 12
• What is "The Hunger Games" about?
• March 23, 2012 (United States)
• United States
• Lionsgate (United States)
• Official Facebook
• Shelby, North Carolina, USA (District 12 reaping ceremony)
• Lionsgate Films
• Color Force
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $78,000,000 (estimated)
• $408,010,692
• $152,535,747
• Mar 25, 2012
• $695,220,619

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 22 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Surround 7.1
• Dolby Atmos

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The Hunger Games Movies In Order

Following Twilight ‘s path, the The Hunger Games ignited the box office in the early 2010s, and then it was full-on ignition to the young adult adaptation craze as filmmakers chased that high of dystopian lows extracted from Suzanne Collins’ book series. Divergent , The Giver , The Maze Runner , The 5th Wave , The Host , Ender’s Game came barging in, though few could match the Hunger Games ‘ potent action, romance, and world-building, alongside the star-making combination of Jennifer Lawrence as upriser icon Katniss Everdeen. It’s a world where a ruined America, a sinister and deadly national game, and a decent love triangle collide — a maturation for the generation that grew up on millennial fantasy and Harry Potter .

If you’re here to pay tribute by watching the series front-to-back, here’s the order the movies originally released:

• The Hunger Games (March 23, 2012)
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 22, 2013)
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (November 21, 2014)
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (November 20, 2015)
• The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (November 17, 2023)

And with Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes being a prequel set 64 years before the Katniss’ story, if you want to watch The Hunger Games in the series’ chronological timeline order, simply move that last movie into the first viewing position.

THE HUNGER GAMES MOVIES AND SHOWS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) 64%

The Hunger Games (2012) 84%

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) 90%

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014) 69%

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (2015) 69%

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Film Review: ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1′

Katniss Everdeen becomes the face of a revolution in “Mockingjay — Part 1,” a tricky transitional episode of “The Hunger Games” franchise that abandons the reality-TV bloodsports of the first two movies to conjure a dour, grimly escalating vision of all-out war. Unsubtly resonant, at times quite rousing and somewhat unsatisfying by design, this penultimate series entry is a tale of mass uprising and media manipulation that itself evinces no hint of a rebellious streak or subversive spirit: Suzanne Collins ’ novels may have warned against the dangers of giving the masses exactly what they want to see, but at this point, the forces behind this hugely commercial property are not about to risk doing anything but. It’s a sensible if not exactly inspired strategy, and with Jennifer Lawrence once more carrying the proceedings and director Francis Lawrence (no relation) dutifully replicating the elements of an inherently cinematic story, Lionsgate’s plans for worldwide B.O. domination look secure.

For the millions who have devoured Collins’ bestselling trilogy and are awaiting this movie with an obsessive fervor equal to that of the most rabid “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” fans (who also had to see their beloved franchises end on a maddening two-part note), the only real source of suspense here lies in the crucial question of where exactly Collins’ story has been cleaved in two. Rest assured, the decision has been made with near-Solomonic wisdom, allowing for just enough incident to sustain this relatively trim two-hour setup until its quasi-cliffhanger of an ending, while leaving several big twists to come in “Part 2” (due out Nov. 25, 2015), along with a presumably epic final showdown. Audiences coming to this film with no prior knowledge of the material, however, may feel their patience squeezed and their appetite for action a bit neglected; following the bright-hued battle-royale spectacle of its predecessors, “Mockingjay” reveals a darkening shift in mood, emphasis and color palette as it decisively exits the arena and literally burrows underground.

After shooting the fateful arrow that brought the Quarter Quell edition of the Hunger Games to a tumultuous close in “Catching Fire,” Katniss (Lawrence) was rescued and brought to the ultra-secret District 13, a large, gray-walled subterranean bunker that houses a growing movement bent on uniting the other districts of Panem and overthrowing the Capitol and its totalitarian President Snow (Donald Sutherland, marvelously menacing as ever). The leader of the uprising is the poised, formidable President Coin ( Julianne Moore , who seems to have taken hairstyling tips from Meryl Streep in “The Giver”), who urges Katniss to officially embrace her role as the Mockingjay, the rebellion’s fiery, feathered figurehead. As masterminded by Coin’s media-savvy associate Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in his second-to-last bigscreen appearance), Katniss will be sent into the war zone to star in a series of propaganda videos, or “propos,” designed to go viral (or its nearest Panem equivalent) and further stoke the fires of revolution across the nation.

As ever, complications emerge stemming from our heroine’s indeterminate romantic feelings toward the noble, self-sacrificing Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), her two-time partner in the Games and her public love interest. Now being held at their Capitol, Peeta is regularly trotted out on live TV to be interviewed by the smarmy Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci, seeming ever more like Regis Philbin’s evil twin), where, under duress, he urges Katniss to quell the uprising; clearly, Snow and his regime are trying to take down the Mockingjay by dangling their own reluctant mascot in front of the camera. To the understandable chagrin of her longtime companion, Gale (Liam Hemsworth), who has bravely joined the fight against the Capitol, Katniss seems more invested in Peeta’s safety than anything else, including the success of their cause.

Like the novel, the screenplay (penned by franchise newcomers Peter Craig and Danny Strong) ably conjoins elements of political thriller, combat movie and mass-media satire, weaving a dense network of unsteady alliances, secret conspiracies, ratings-minded power plays and the always-knotty entanglements of love and war. It helps that some of Collins’ storytelling devices, particularly her critical inquiry into the temptations of overnight fame and the uses and abuses of televised propaganda, feel naturally suited to the screen — a fact that director Lawrence and his “Catching Fire” d.p., Jo Willems, have exploited to canny effect. An early sequence finds Katniss stumbling through what remains of her home village of District 12, which Snow’s forces reduced to rubble in the wake of her escape from the arena; it’s a picture of bombed-out, skull-ridden horror worthy of Vereschagin’s “Apotheosis of War” and other visions of hell on earth.

Fortunately, there are welcome if fleeting moments of levity as well, mostly courtesy of Katniss’ temporarily sober mentor, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), and her once colorfully coiffed, now plainly dressed escort, Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), whose expanded role here represents the film’s most significant deviation from the novel. Their attempts to turn the initially stiff, camera-shy Katniss into a poster girl for the rebellion provide some gentle amusement, until Haymitch realizes that this Mockingjay can’t be trained to perform on cue: It’s only after she sees Capitol planes bomb a crowded District 8 hospital that Katniss’ guilt and devastation spur her into a moment of genuine, articulate fury. “If we burn, you burn with us,” she tells her enemies in no uncertain terms, coining what will become a mantra for the revolution, as dramatized in stirring, sweepingly effective sequences of the other districts rising up and causing untold damage to the Capitol.

Those brief flare-ups of action — including a daring, high-tech mission to rescue Peeta and the other surviving Quarter Quell tributes from the Capitol — bring a few frissons of suspense to a tale that otherwise operates in a downbeat, claustrophobic register, sustained by the unrelenting pallor of Willems’ studiously underlit images and production designer Philip Messina’s purely functional-looking sets for District 13. Gone are the first two films’ riotous colors and outre fashions; the duo of Kurt and Bart handled the more restrained costume-design duties this time around, their chief contribution being the sleek, black combat gear that Katniss wears for her appearances as the Mockingjay. Even composer James Newton Howard’s usual themes take a backseat to a haunting childhood song that Katniss croons at the film’s midpoint; it’s not long before her allies are humming the same tune as they march on Snow’s empire.

In short, all talents involved seem to have marshaled their significant resources in service of an ever bleaker and more serious-minded portrait of geopolitical conflict, replete with topical parallels (long-range missile attacks, the deliberate targeting of civilian refugees) that cut even closer to home than the filmmakers may have intended — never more than when Snow orders live broadcasts of public executions in each district, the heads of the condemned covered in black hoods. But while helmer Lawrence maintains a steadily absorbing control of the story’s pace, tone and ever-increasing dramatic stakes, the downside of his fidelity to Collins’ novel (the author even gets an “adaptation by” credit this time around) is that the film never shakes off a safe-and-steady, by-the-book feel, or an unfortunate tendency to spell out the obvious. (When Peeta sends Katniss an unmistakable warning, someone helpfully notes, “That was a warning.”) For all its obvious smarts and mildly provocative ideas, “Mockingjay” doesn’t seem to trust its audience quite as much as it clearly trusts its heroine.

If Katniss remains only intermittently comfortable with her celebrity, Jennifer Lawrence herself feels like more of a natural than ever. Although she has less to do on the action front (she fires only one arrow, and it’s a doozy), her Katniss remains the most compellingly human fixture of this dystopian landscape, even when the psychological toll of her sufferings push the performance into a shriekier, more desperate emotional register than before. Some of that is due not only to Katniss’ feelings for Peeta, but also to her concern for her loving but weak-willed mother (Paula Malcomson) and especially her younger sister, Prim (Willow Shields, more prominent here than in the earlier films), laying the emotional groundwork for events still to come.

Jena Malone has a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance as ferocious fighter Johanna Mason, while Sam Claflin, superbly introduced in “Catching Fire” as Katniss’ handsome arena ally Finnick Odair, tempers his devilish charisma here to reveal the character’s wounded, vulnerable side, even if the sequence that lays bare his most startling revelations is muddled by excessive cross-cutting (a split-screen approach might have worked better). Hutcherson and Hemsworth continue to be unexceptionally fine; British actress Natalie Dormer reps a strong addition as Katniss’ shrewd propo director, Cressida; and the older stalwarts in the cast — including Hoffman, Harrelson, Banks, Tucci, Sutherland and Jeffrey Wright (as technical whiz Beetee Latier) — again bring a crucial measure of grown-up authority to the YA proceedings.

On that score, Moore’s Coin unsurprisingly emerges as the ensemble’s MVP, her steely intelligence and no-nonsense leadership marking her as yet another manifestation of the franchise’s refreshing gender politics, even as the film slyly encourages us not to judge her or her subordinates by the apparent righteousness of their cause. That power cannot help but corrupt is among Collins’ more potent themes (hinted at here in shots of a District 13 rally that can’t help but evoke “Triumph of the Will”), but one likely to be explored in greater depth — and ideally, with a freer hand — when “Mockingjay — Part 2″ arrives at this time next year.

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The Hunger Games

Where to watch.

Watch The Hunger Games with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

Thrilling and superbly acted, The Hunger Games captures the dramatic violence, raw emotion, and ambitious scope of its source novel.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Jennifer Lawrence

Katniss Everdeen

Josh Hutcherson

Peeta Mellark

Liam Hemsworth

Gale Hawthorne

Woody Harrelson

Haymitch Abernathy

Elizabeth Banks

Effie Trinket

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The Hunger Games – review

I f sport is violence by other means, then reality TV is cruelty, envy, spite and group hate … by exactly the same means. The Hunger Games is an exciting dystopian fantasy-thriller on this theme, taking place in a world of circuses but no bread. It is directed by Gary Ross, and based on the 2008 young-adult bestseller by Suzanne Collins, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ross.

The entirety of North America has become a totalitarian state, traumatised by chronic food shortages; these once inspired a people's uprising in outlying regions, which was brutally suppressed but the relevant communities "forgiven" on condition that they annually supply 24 young people by lottery to compete in a televised survival contest in a fenced-off woodland arena, provided with weapons and food, fighting with the elements and each other until only one remains alive.

In this way, the authorities hope to siphon off the people's tendency to violence and resentment. At first terrified, the chosen contestants are soothed by the pre-contest period: they had been living in dirt-poor rural areas that have regressed to a parody of 19th-century pioneer austerity, like something out of Laura Ingalls Wilder. But the chosen teenagers are brought to a gleaming futurist metropolis beyond their dreams, where people dress with absurdly obvious decadence and foppery. Lavished with food, luxury, top-notch athletic training and the intoxicating thrill of celebrity, they begin to glow: sacrificial lambs who think they're rock stars.

Among them are tough, level-headed Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), two people with some emotional history together. When Peeta confesses his feelings for Katniss and the ratings explode, the thought of lovers who must fight each other to the death begins to electrify the TV public, and requests for a rule change are pressed on the malign president, played, perhaps inevitably, by Donald Sutherland. But is Peeta just playing to the cameras?

The Hunger Games is partly an entertaining throwback to satirical pictures such as Norman Jewison's Rollerball (1975) and Sidney Lumet's Network (1976), although those movies had a very adult, sexy-sleazy feel; The Hunger Games is notably chaste, despite all the fighting. It could also have been inspired by Kinji Fukasaku's Japanese nightmare Battle Royale (2000) and Daniel Minahan's excellent and underrated satire Series 7: The Contenders (2001). The film also awoke in me a very happy memory of the classic first-season Star Trek episode "Arena", in which Captain Kirk is teleported to a uninhabited planet where he has to fight the giant reptilian Gorn, and is told there are raw materials there to create a weapon, if only he can find them.

But these points of reference existed before reality TV took its grip. Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games, on the other hand, has been created by and for people who have grown up with it. Now pop culture is steeped in Pop Idol, American Idol and all the other reality shows in which young people are ritually exposed or humiliated or capriciously promoted to headspinning, temporary fame. The Hunger Games reflects a weird kind of post-ironic accommodation: it doesn't read as satire in quite the same way. The vicious use of Warhol's 15 minutes to oppress and cheapen the public is not presented with distancing black comedy, more a protracted growl of pain.

Yet the vinegary tang of satire is still there. When Katniss has to demonstrate her archery skills to the drawlingly callous judges, she sneers: "Thank you for your consideration." Could this be a sly dig at the campaign language for Academy award nominees? I laughed at Sutherland's shrewd dismissal of the Hollywoodised "sympathy" narrative: "There are lots of underdogs in this world," he snaps, "if you could really see them, you would not root for them either."

Just as in The X Factor, the contestants have preening mentor-figures – here they are Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). And just as in Big Brother, warring contestants make short-term alliances to manage the outcome, to prolong their presence in the contest, but also because a sociable denial-mechanism is hard-wired into them: for much of the time, they behave as if death is not looming. Reality television's horrible fascination, amplified here, is that we can see this on our screens; they can't. The humiliation of failure on a real reality show is mortifying: the contestants' non-celeb ordinariness counts against them, and their dignity levels plunge well below zero. A living death?

The Hunger Games is a very enjoyable futurist adventure, presented with a compelling, beady-eyed intensity. The worry now is that with big-screen versions of the next books in Suzanne Collins's series coming down the line, the impact will be lessened, and it will become a Twilightish soap. Already there is a hint of a Team-Jacob-vs-Team-Edward conflict as Katniss may have her eye on another hunk, Gale (Liam Hemsworth). For the time being, however, this is supremely effective entertainment.

• The Hunger Games
• Action and adventure films
• Jennifer Lawrence
• Film adaptations
• Suzanne Collins
• Woody Harrelson

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Movie Review

Should Parents Take Their Kids to See Mockingjay?

Another year, another movie in the Hunger Games franchise (at least, until next year). Following the massive success of The Hunger Games book trilogy, the third-but-not-final movie,  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 , debuted this weekend to much fanfare.

Like the two  previous Hunger Games  movies , Mockingjay  brings heavy doses of action and “bloodless” violence wrapped up in a story of love, rebellion, and most importantly, survival.

I had the opportunity to catch Mockingjay opening weekend, below I share my recap of the film and notes for concerned parents.

Movie Details:

Director: Francis Lawrence

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , and Liam Hemsworth , with a fantastic supporting cast that includes  Donald Sutherland , Woody Harrelson , Elizabeth Banks ,  Philip Seymour Hoffman , Julianne Moore , and Natalie Dormer among others.

Rating: PG-13 for violent and frightening images, and some drug/alcohol use.

Run time: 123 minutes

Warning! Spoilers ahead. Skip to the Parental Warnings if you haven’t read the book.

District 13 is the setting for the “new” rebellion against the Capitol. Peeta is still in The Capitol, under President Snow’s control, making the situation significantly more difficult for Katniss.

At the start of Mockingjay , Katniss wakes up in rough shape, physically and mentally. Disillusioned by the fact that her saviors left the capital with her, while leaving Peeta behind to be tortured and manipulated, Katniss struggles with her role as the face of the rebellion. Katniss never knew (and how could she?) that the rebel leaders were using her as a rallying cry for their supporters, but she’s now confronted with the reality that she is the key to unifying the rebels against the Capitol.

Throughout the film, propaganda messages from the Capitol containing Peeta are broadcast. The Capitol is using Peeta as their own symbol to counter the rebel propaganda. In these interviews, Peeta repeatedly calls for a ceasefire as a civil war will hurt everyone.

Katniss struggles as she still loves Peeta, and now he’s seemingly taken the side of the Capitol in the brewing civil war. She knows he’s doing and saying whatever he can to survive, but is deeply hurt by the efforts to undermine the rebellion.

In each of the broadcasts, Peeta appears weaker and more shaken, and in one last message he manages to warn District 13 that the Capitol is sending bombers, which allows everyone enough time to get to a safe place to ride out wave after wave of bombs being dropped on the surface above.

A window of opportunity opens after the rebels destroy a dam and knock out power in the Capitol, the rebels launch a rescue mission to extract Peeta and the other tributes held captive in the Tribute Center.

Surprisingly, the rescue mission is a success, but Gale notes that even though the power came back on while they were there, and the anti-aircraft weapons in the Capitol were back online, they were able to fly out of the Capitol with no resistance.

It becomes clear that President Snow allowed this to happen, using Peeta as a “Trojan Horse,” mentally hijacked and turned against Katniss. When Katniss gets the opportunity to see Peeta, he quickly lunges and grabs her neck in an attempt to kill her.

The movie ends with a view of Peeta in agony, tied to a bed in a secure room as the rebel leaders plan a way to rehabilitate him. This sets the series up nicely for a conclusion in  Mockingjay: Part 2 , due out November 2015.

Other Notes

There are a few things about  Mockingjay that differ from the first two movies (and books) that seem to split popular opinion.

First, there are no “games” in this film. While the first two films centered on the annual “Olympic-style” games, this installment begins a new era in which the games are destroyed and the story follows more closely the struggles of the characters as they wade the new political climate in an attempt to build a unified stance against the Capitol. Due to the greater focus on politics and propaganda, the story slows, allowing for greater development of major and minor characters.

Second,  Mockingjay is the only book in the trilogy to be split into two movies. I didn’t love this decision. Rather than creating two roughly two-hour long movies, Mockingjay  could easily be one single movie around three hours long. Instead, fans have to wait another year and buy another movie ticket, which to me seems like nothing more than a ploy to sell more tickets.

Third, Mockingjay  may be the most violent of the films in the series. Whereas most of the violence in the first two films centered around the games, Mockingjay  contains some very real and disturbing scenes of war and destruction. In visiting her home district which was destroyed by the Capitol at the end of Catching Fire , Katniss walks among countless skeletons, reeling from the realization that everything she fought for in The Games has been wiped away.

Parental Warnings

After seeing the film, I can say confidently that  Mockingjay Part 1 is quite a bit different than  The Hunger Games or  Catching Fire . The story has turned away from the annual “Hunger Games” and now focuses on the politics of war. The dialog-to-action ratio is up, but there are still several violent scenes related to the uprising.

• Despite the lack of “games” in this film, there is plenty of imagery that could disturb younger viewers. When visiting District 12, burned bodies and skeletons are everywhere, and at one point Katniss steps on a skull.
• In one sequence, citizens from each district are lined up, hooded, and executed by being shot point-blank.
• During a visit to a rebel hospital, Katniss has to plug her nose to avoid the stench of decaying corpses in the hallway.
• During a few of the uprising scenes, dozens of rebels are shot and killed by Peacekeepers.
• [toggler title=”Spoiler” ]In one jarring scene after Peeta has been rescued from the Capitol, he tries to kill Katniss by strangling her. The scene is very intense, as it clearly shows Peeta digging his thumbs into Katniss’ throat.[/toggler]
• None noted.

Drugs and Alcohol:

• In one scene, Haymitch, frustrated with District 13’s prohibition of alcohol, asks Katniss if she’s been given any “medicine” that he can have.

Adult Themes:

• Nothing more than a few moments that go no further than a kiss.

Conclusion: Is  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1   Appropriate for Kids?

In the first two films, the action was mostly centered around the games, and the fighting could potentially be viewed as more self-defense than senseless violence.

In  Mockingjay , however, there are no games. Instead, the violent images are more focused on torture, war, and the human cost of political uprisings.

If you’ve taken your kids to see the first two films in the series, that means they are a year or two older now, and may be old enough to handle the content in  Mockingjay.

Due to the somewhat-more-mature subject matter in this film, we recommend considering the MPAA rating of PG-13, as children under 13 may be disturbed by several scenes.

[embedvideo id=”IXshQ5mv1K8?rel=0″ website=”youtube”]

All Images © Lionsgate

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Review: ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2,’ Katniss’s Final Battle

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By Manohla Dargis

• Nov. 19, 2015

There’s no risk that Katniss Everdeen, the warrior who has led the charge against oppression in “The Hunger Games” movies, can ever return to her current incarnation. Even if she and her world are rebooted back into franchise existence by a ravenous studio, her moment was now. Katniss, as played by Jennifer Lawrence over three years and four blockbusters, has evolved from a backwoods scrapper in the first movie into a battle-scarred champion and an exemplar of female power on screen and off — and the battles she’s fought have extended far beyond the fictional nation of Panem.

So, yes, of course Katniss is back, just as promised by the clumsy title of her last movie, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.” In “Part 2,” she has returned as destined to finish the fight, defeat the enemy and send off a big-screen series that has had an astonishing run both in cold-cash terms and in its meaningful symbolism. She’s ready. Since 2012, when the first movie landed, Katniss has grown into her role as a savior, an evolution that parallels that of Ms. Lawrence, who entered the series as a Sundance starlet and leaves it as one of the biggest stars in the world. Both have grown exponentially, rising to the demands of their loving audience.

Movie Review: ‘Mockingjay Part 2’

The times critic manohla dargis reviews “the hunger games: mockingjay part 2.”.

And “The Hunger Games” has triumphed partly because it means so many different things to so many people. It’s a story of war and peace, love and bullets, pegged to a girl-woman who fights for her family, her friends and the future. It’s aspirational and inspirational, personal and communal, familiar and strange, and it speaks to the past as well as the present, sometimes unnervingly so. Suzanne Collins, who wrote the books, took her cues from reality television, the Iraq war , Roman gladiator games and the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, and then filtered her influences through a heroine who embodies the adage that it’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees. The result was a great character on the page and a transcendent one on the screen, where women tend to be sidelined or trapped in the virgin-whore divide.

If Katniss escaped that old binary it’s because Ms. Collins created a character who exists outside the traditional confines of the feminine-masculine split, and because the movies have stayed true to that original conception. At once a hunter and a nurturer, Katniss is tough and teary, stoic and sentimental, which give her layers that reflect her changeable inner states as well as her public and private identities as daughter, sister, lover and leader. It’s instructive that she’s worn her most overtly glamour-girl outfits as part of the farcical role forced on her by the totalitarian government that rules Panem, having been dolled up with makeup and smiles for the televised sideshows that accompany the murderous games of the series title. She’s since graduated to basic battle black or unisex clothing that’s suggestive of a Dystopian Gap.

“Part 2” more or less picks up where the last movie left off, with Katniss and the rest of the rebel forces closing in on the government and Panem’s leader, President Snow (the invaluable Donald Sutherland, leading with an insouciant self-amused smile). There are no real surprises, though many familiar faces, some of whom (Jeffrey Wright and, more movingly, Philip Seymour Hoffman) flash by so quickly that they feel like guests who have popped in only to say goodbye. As with a lot of contemporary franchises, this one stocked the supporting roles with veterans who have given ballast to a largely unmemorable young cast, including the insipid twosome — Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale — who have wanly bookended Katniss from the start.

Like the previous two movies, “Part 2” was directed by Francis Lawrence who, like most franchise filmmakers, was not hired for the quality of his mise-en-scène but for one job: to not screw up an extremely valuable property. (The first was shepherded by Gary Ross, whose cinematographer, Tom Stern, alas, also departed the series.) And, so, mission accomplished, largely with a lot of conversational face-offs and regular bursts of showy violence that sometimes turn panoramic, allowing you to admire the scale of the apocalyptically dressed sets. To that instrumental end, the actors hit their marks while running and gunning amid the gray rubble and black ooze, although Mr. Lawrence does raise some nice shivers in a tunnel sequence, making the horrific most out of the dark.

“Part 2” looks much like most contemporary dystopian future worlds, one that’s by turns similar enough to ours to be reassuring and different enough to be diverting. What makes the material still feel personal — other than the yearslong investment and love that transform entertainments into fan communities — is the combination of Katniss and Ms. Lawrence, who have become a perfect fit. Ms. Lawrence now inhabits the role as effortlessly as breathing, partly because, like all great stars, she seems to be playing a version of her “real” self. It’s the kind of realness that can give you and the movie a jolt, as in a scene with Ms. Lawrence and a sensationally raw Jena Malone that thrusts it into that place where heroes and villains give way to something like life.

It’s crucial to the conception of Katniss that most of the character’s more emotionally plangent scenes have been with other women, including her family, friends and other Hunger Games combatants. Some of this can be chalked up to casting and, together with Ms. Lawrence, Ms. Malone, Natalie Dormer, Patina Miller and Michelle Forbes make one of the toughest groups of women to band together on screen since Quentin Tarantino’s “Death Proof,” his ode to exploitation cinema and its chicks. This series has had its share of robust male assistance (notably from Mr. Sutherland and Woody Harrelson), but it’s been distracting and at times more than a little amusing that Katniss’s love interests are played by the blindingly bland brotherhood of Mr. Hutcherson and Mr. Hemsworth.

Intentional or not, their casting ensured that in the movies, just as in the books, Katniss was never going to be upstaged by a love interest. “The Hunger Games” may have shocked readers and viewers with its child-on-child violence, but even more startling and certainly far more pleasurable has been the girl-woman at its center who can lead troops like a reborn Joan of Arc, yet find time to nuzzle the downy lips of her male comrades before returning to battle. Her desire is as fluid as her gender, whether she’s slipping into froufrou, shooting down enemy aircraft, kissing a boy or taking a punch. Unlike a lot of screen heroines, she has never settled into stereotype, which, despite the whole dystopian thing, makes her a lot like the contemporary girls and women watching her.

That has helped make Katniss the right heroine for these neo-feminist times, the you-go-and-fight girl who has led the empowerment charge at the box office and in the public imagination, often while slinging a bow and arrow borrowed from Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt. It wasn’t long before Katniss was making more like a latter-day Athena , the Greek goddess of war, even as this very human girl-woman was also suggesting a vibrant new take on the American Adam. You may not know the name, but you know the type: He’s the hero whom the critic R. W. B. Lewis, in his 1955 study of 19th-century literature (and an “American mythology”) described as being “emancipated from history, happily bereft from ancestry, untouched and undefiled by the usual inheritances of family and race.”

However mythic this figure — individual, self-reliant, “fundamentally innocent” — the illusion of freedom he enjoys is meaningful, Lewis argues, because it makes for fiction capable of “profound tragic understanding” rather than hopelessness. Even inadequately, this Adam struggles because, as with his biblical namesake, “the world and history lay all before” him; by contrast, these lay all behind Katniss, who has endured history, violence and death. Yet she goes forth into her world because she too has an illusion of freedom, one which has spared us the nihilism polluting too many movies and has meant that she is neither Adam nor Eve but something else. And it is only by being this something else (not the Girl, not the Virgin or the Whore) that she has been able both to love and to fight, including against the big bad patriarch.

The success of “The Hunger Games” series has been itself, in its bottom-line fashion, a rejoinder to another intolerant regime, that of a movie industry that continues to treat women on and off the screen as a distraction, an afterthought and a problem. A few months into its run, the second installment, “Catching Fire,” became the first movie with a lone female lead to top the annual domestic box office in four decades. That’s astonishing because it reveals the historical depths of the industry’s inequities even while it speaks to the audience’s embrace of this series. There are all sorts of reasons that viewers have flocked to these movies, including the studio hard sell, but I like to think the numbers prove that, in rallying to Katniss’s side, they’re also backing the other liberation struggle she has come to represent.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Apocalyptic violence. Running time: 2 hours 16 minutes.

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CHRISTIAN MOVIE REVIEW

Review: the hunger games: mockingjay - part 1, by hannah goodwyn senior producer.

CBN.com - Katniss Everdeen ain't playin' no more games. This third installment in The Hunger Games series of films has moved on to bigger and badder things, beyond the arena and into the realities of living in Panem.

Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson return as the "girl on fire" and her two "friends" as Mockingjay – Part 1 takes moviegoers deeper into Katniss' story. It's a darker movie, touching on more mature themes and definitely has a higher body count.

Like the two movies before it, Mockingjay –Part 1 is rated PG-13. Reasons for that rating are explained below. What's abundantly clear is that Panem has become a much starker place than where we left it at the end of Catching Fire . Mockingjay raises the stakes with this first part of the final chapters forcefully taking it up a notch.

THE MOVIE IN A MINUTE

Rescued from the Capitol after the games are destroyed, Katniss is tormented by the atrocities she's seen. She wants to be left alone, but she's determined to see Peeta safely rescued from the Capitol, where she believes he's being held captive. Desperate to unite the outlying districts, District 13 President Coin appeals to Katniss to become the Mockingjay, their symbol of unified rebellion. It's a task Katniss takes reluctantly and with the stipulation that they save Peeta.With each move Katniss makes to rally the rebels, ruthless President Snow escalates his retaliations. His tyrannical reign will not be easily toppled. But if he's looking for a fight, she's ready to give him one.

THE GOOD AND BAD IN THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1

Taking a page from other franchise playbooks, studio execs have split the final book in Suzanne Collins' best-selling trilogy into two movies (releasing a year apart). This prolonging of this story's final act is felt at times in this third film. However, it does do a lot better job than most pre-final movies at teasing the big finale. With each scene, the plot thickens and tension builds.

At the movie's start, we see that the people of Panem are at a crossroads. They have to either get in line with a maniacal tyrant or join hands in fighting against the Capitol with District 13, a totalitarian enclave living under ground. The forgotten district seems more concerned with protecting innocents instead of keeping them in check by bombing their homes, so it looks like Katniss is on the better side, though she's not quite sure who she can really trust.

This third movie is a look at the cost of war, the poverty harsh government rule can inflict, the ravages of torture and the impact of propaganda. Thematically speaking, Mockingjay – Part 1 really steps it up. For these reasons and more, this is not an appropriate film for children. Its PG-13 rating is for "intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material".

(Spoiler ahead…) One of these "disturbing" instances is when she's surveying the damage done by one of Snow's bombing raids. Before Katniss realizes the rubble-filled street she's walking down is really a large tomb filled with thousands of people killed in one of his raid, she hears the crunching of bone under her boots. When she pulls back, a skull appears beneath her. These images of war are quite motivating to her and disturbing for all of us.

Katniss' survival mode, as portrayed in the first two films, evolves into an inspiring boldness as she assumes the role of the Mockingjay in this new film from Lionsgate. There's an intensity to it that progresses to the movie's end, which is more like an intermission. All in all, Mockingjay – Part 1 is a good teaser for fans familiar with this trilogy as they wait for the finale of Part 2 (which releases in November 2015.) Still, caution is advised.

*Note: A dedication to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman follows Mockingjay – Part 1 , a movie in which he further demostrated his exceptional acting talent.

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Are the 'Hunger Games' Movies on Netflix?

W hether to rewatch a favorite or catch a classic for the first time, Netflix ‘s movie collection has it all. The  Hunger Games  series hasn’t been part of the streaming giant’s catalog for long, giving subscribers a brief chance to enter the world of Panem.

And while some movies remain on Netflix for months, if not years, the  Hunger Games  series doesn’t have the same shelf-life. 

All 4 original ‘Hunger Games’ movies leave Netflix on May 31

Like the tributes in the Hunger Games , the movies were never meant to last on Netflix.  The Hunger Games ,  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay , and  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Part I  and  Part II  leave Netflix on May 31.

The series leaves the streaming service soon after arriving. Netflix added the four original  Hunger Games  movies to its platform in March 2024. That coincided with the DVD and Blu-ray release of the prequel film  The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes . And while that movie didn’t catch fire in the same way as the original, it made a meaningful contribution to the franchise .

Where to stream the ‘Hunger Games’ movies after May 31

Netflix Top 10 TV Shows Right Now

Jennifer Lawrence Once Said the Biggest Mistake ‘The Hunger Games’ Made Was ‘Casting Me’

If you can’t get through all four  Hunger Games  movies before the end of the month, you may wonder where to stream the movies next.

Unfortunately, options are limited. Once  The Hunger Games  leaves Netflix, they won’t be free on any streaming services. The series left Peacock at the end of 2023, removing another streaming service that carried the Jennifer Lawrence movies. Apple and Google currently offer the films to rent.

However, there is some good news in the world of streaming for the Hunger Games .  The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes  will begin streaming on Starz in May 2024.

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Thirsty For More is an exciting movie review/recap podcast hosted by two brothers: Milenko and Aleks. Join them as they take season long deep dives into the movies of some of their favourite actors/franchises. The show is as much about their relationship and dynamic as it is about their nostalgic love of these properties. Known for their uncanny impressions, fiery hot takes, and nonstop excitement the conversations are as nuanced as they are ridiculous. With hilarious soundbite editing and total musical immersion Thirsty For More will leave you thirsty for more. Season 1: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Schwartzy The Podcast) Mini Dive: Back To The Future Tilogy Mini Dive: Home Alone Season 2: Jean Pod Van Damme Mini Dive: Alien Franchise Mini Dive: Thirsty For Jones Chow Yun-Fat Mini Dive - Thirsty For Black Belt Cinema Season 3: Stallone Cuts Season 4: Planet Bruce (Bruce Willis)

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• 4.0 • 3 Ratings

Bonus Show - Road House (2024)

Get ready for another thrilling episode of "Thirsty for More" as the dynamic duo, Aleks and Milenko, return to dissect the 2024 remake of the cult classic "Road House"! Featuring an all-star cast including the incredible Jake Gyllenhaal, the formidable Conor McGregor in a memorable villainous role, the talented Daniela Melchior, the surprising addition of Post Malone, and the delightful Jessica Williams—this movie boasts an ensemble that's bound to leave you in awe.Join the brothers as they delve into the heart of the film, exploring its gritty action sequences, electrifying performances, and nostalgic nods to the Van Damme era. With the help of associate producer Kays, they unravel what makes this remake a must-watch for fans of the genre.From discussing the movie's standout moments to dissecting the elements that felt a bit off, this episode promises to be a rollercoaster ride of insights and entertainment. So, grab your popcorn and tune in to "Thirsty for More" as Aleks and Milenko take you on a wild journey through the adrenaline-fueled world of "Road House." It's an episode you won't want to miss—get into it!

• 10 MAR 2024

EP177 - The Hunger Games - The Mockingjay Part 2

Welcome to the penultimate episode of "Hungry for More," the podcast offshoot of "Thirsty for More," where Ana, Milenko, and Aleks reunite for an introspective yet delightfully silly discussion on the final installment of Katniss's journey in "The Hunger Games" series— "Mockingjay Part 2."In this episode, the trio delves deep into the nuances of revolution and its often disappointing aftermath. With thought-provoking discussions on the movie's messaging and themes, they explore the stunning conclusions that unfold as Katniss's story reaches its climax.But that's not all—prepare to be captivated as they further romanticize the saga of beloved characters such as Peeta, Gale, President Coin, and the enigmatic President Snow. With insights that are both insightful and entertaining, this episode promises to be a fascinating deep dive into the world of "The Hunger Games."So, don't miss out! Tune in to this episode of "Hungry for More" and join Ana, Milenko, and Aleks as they navigate the twists and turns of Katniss's epic journey. It's an episode not to be missed—get into it!

• 1 hr 43 min

EP176 - The Hunger Games - Mockingjay (Part 1)

Welcome to "Hungry for More," the podcast where Ana, Aleks, and Milenko dive deep into the world of "The Hunger Games" movies, exploring the broader political implications of art and the depiction of righteous revolution in Hollywood.In this episode, the trio delves into the third installment of the franchise—Part 1 of the epic finale, "Mockingjay." With the revolution in full swing, paranoia runs rampant as loyalties are questioned and alliances tested. Against this backdrop, Katniss emerges as a beacon of inspiration and hope, galvanizing the masses with her unwavering resolve.As the hosts dissect the intricacies of the plot, they uncover layers of character development and lore that add depth to the story. However, with "Mockingjay" Part 1 serving as the first half of a two-part epic, there's a sense of anticipation mixed with frustration. While the attempt to give the story a cohesive ending is commendable, the wait for the final resolution can feel agonizing.Nevertheless, the movie is ripe with intrigue, particularly in the evolving dynamics of Katniss' relationships with Gale and Peeta. As the lines between ally and adversary blur, the hosts navigate the complexities of love, loyalty, and sacrifice with keen insight and analysis.So, if you're hungry for a thought-provoking discussion on "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1," look no further. Tune in to this episode of "Hungry for More" and prepare to feast on a feast of insights and revelations. After listening, you'll undoubtedly be left craving more.

• 2 hrs 3 min
• 25 FEB 2024

EP175 - The Hunger Games - Catching Fire

Welcome back to another thrilling episode of "Thirsty for More," where the trio of brothers—Aleks and Milenko—and their esteemed friend of the show, Ana, are ready to dive deep into the captivating world of "The Hunger Games" once again. This time, they're setting their sights on the exhilarating sequel, "Catching Fire."Join our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, as she grapples with the aftermath of her victory in the Hunger Games. Traumatized and despondent, Katniss finds herself thrust back into the oppressive reality of District 12. But her triumph alongside Peeta has sparked a revolution, shattering the fragile facade of peace maintained by President Snow's tyrannical regime.Enter the enigmatic Phillip Seymour Hoffman, delivering an unforgettable performance as the new gamemaker with a peculiar charm and unsettling allure. In this quarter quell edition—an all-stars, all-winners extravaganza—the stakes are higher than ever, with 75 years of history coming to a head.As the hosts dissect the complex themes of power, influence, and violence, they uncover layers of meaning within the film. From exploring the trauma of societal structures to dissecting the parallels with real-life conflicts, their conversations are as enlightening as they are engaging.So, buckle up and prepare for a journey into the heart of "Catching Fire," where every twist and turn reveals new insights into the human condition. With laughter, analysis, and plenty of surprises along the way, this episode promises to be an unforgettable experience. Don't miss out—tune in now and join the conversation!

• 2 hrs 1 min
• 18 FEB 2024

EP174 - The Hunger Games

Welcome back to another exciting episode of the podcast extravaganza with the dynamic duo, Aleks and Milenko! But wait, there's more! This time, they're joined by none other than the fantastic Ana, a dear friend of the show, as they embark on a thrilling mini dive into the captivating world of young adult fiction with none other than "The Hunger Games."Hold onto your seats, folks, because this trio of hosts is ready to take you on a rollercoaster ride through the dystopian landscape of Panem. First up, let's talk about Jennifer Lawrence—what an absolute powerhouse performance she delivers in the 2012 adaptation of "The Hunger Games"! Get ready to be blown away by her talent.But that's just the beginning. Prepare yourself for a podcast episode like no other, as Aleks, Milenko, and Ana kick off a hilarious yet deeply exploratory discussion. Together, they delve into the intricate web of politics and power that defines the world of "The Hunger Games." From the thrilling action sequences to the thought-provoking social commentary, no stone is left unturned in this enthralling conversation.So, grab your bow and arrow, and join the trio as they navigate the treacherous arenas of "The Hunger Games" universe. With laughter, insight, and plenty of surprises along the way, this episode promises to leave you thirsty for more. Don't miss out—tune in now and let the games begin!

• 2 hrs 32 min
• 29 JAN 2024

Second Chance Schwartzy - Raw Deal

Welcome back to another thrilling installment of "Second Chance Schwartzy," where the brothers Aleks and Milenko continue their journey through the Schwarzenegger cinematic universe. This week, they're diving into the 1986 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie that once earned the infamous title of a "Raw Deal." That's right—the movie that led to the coining of the phrase, indicating films with high expectations that ultimately fall short.But hold on! This time around, the brothers are embracing the over-the-top B-plot and reveling in the glorious 80s camp. It turns out, "Raw Deal" isn't such a raw deal after all. The cast, led by the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger, delivers silly yet entertaining performances, with the likes of Robert Davi adding to the over-the-top charm.In a flurry of events, the brothers decode the sometimes convoluted but consistently wild plot. Join them as they unearth the hidden gems and unexpected joys in a movie that, against all odds, manages to turn disappointment into delight. It's a rediscovery of the fun side of "Raw Deal," and the brothers are here to guide you through the journey.So, buckle up and join Aleks and Milenko as they navigate the twists and turns of "Raw Deal," proving that sometimes, a second chance is all a movie needs to transform from a supposed disappointment into a rollicking good time. Stay tuned and enjoy the ride!

• © Copyright Milenko and Aleks Vujosevic

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‘Boy Kills World’ Review: Bill Skarsgård Is a Deaf-Mute Avenger in an Action Film So Ultraviolent It’s Like ‘John Wick’ Gone ‘Clockwork Orange’

Moritz Mohr's first feature draws on a great many sources, from video games to "The Hunger Games," to build a world all its own.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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• ‘Boy Kills World’ Review: Bill Skarsgård Is a Deaf-Mute Avenger in an Action Film So Ultraviolent It’s Like ‘John Wick’ Gone ‘Clockwork Orange’ 1 week ago
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In “ Boy Kills World ,” Bill Skarsgård has burning eyes and model cheekbones, sinewy arms popping out of a dirty red athletic vest, and a feral pout that makes him look like Jean-Claude Van Damme crossed with Lou Reed. He plays a deaf-mute avenger, known only as Boy, who kills people in insanely violent ways. Yet through it all, the character retains his innocence. He’s a wounded wild child in a man’s body.

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So what does it say that in a movie like “Boy Kills World,” that level of cheeky dark sadism has been turned into a pure lark — the new extreme threshold of mainstream entertainment? The fact that this is what we now seek out for kicks may be scarier than anything in “A Clockwork Orange.”

Yet the pop culture of the last 50 years has primed us for it: the slasher movies, the video games, the high-body-count delirium of the “John Wick” series, which may have been the first films to package this kind of relentlessness as cutthroat jollies for the megaplex. The kill-kill-kill spirit of “John Wick” made a film like “Boy Kills World” possible, yet “Boy Kills World” takes it all a step further. It’s the action film as slasher movie as gonzo damaged-superhero movie. It’s a depraved vision, yet I got caught up in its kick-ass revenge-horror pizzazz, its disreputable commitment to what it was doing.

Boy, who can read lips, understands most of what’s happening around him, and he reacts to events by talking directly to us on the soundtrack, in an exaggerated he-man voice (like Mel Gibson’s in “Mad Max”). You could say that the movie, in a way, cheats the fact that he can’t speak, but Boy’s quips-from-his-inner-voice lend “Boy Kills World” a graphic-novel funkiness.

Boy has gone out into the world to right its wrongs, but what’s standing atop the pyramid isn’t the usual stoic power addict. It’s a dysfunctional family of rulers who are at each other’s throats. Mohr, working from a script by Tyler Burton Smith and Arend Remmers, has fun fleshing out these baroque villains. I enjoyed Brett Gelman as the bearded brother who’s like a diamond-district chiseler who thinks he’s a brilliant screenwriter, and Famke Janssen as the matriarch who’s losing her mind. As the dynasty’s media ringleader, Sharlto Copley does his showboat thing (and gets what he deserves). Mohr stages the Culling as the spectacular slaughterhouse version of a winter-wonderland TV commercial. It’s a sequence that would make Alex from “A Clockwork Orange” stand and applaud in glee.  

There’s a big twist — or really, two in one. The state soldier, named June27 (Jessica Rothe), who speaks in slogans flashed onto her digital combat visor turns out to be closer to home than we think. And a character we assume is heroic is revealed to be an emotionally broken monster. All of that succeeds in holding our attention, and the climactic fight — a threesome — is shot and choreographed with brutal visual wizardry. It’s all held together by Skarsgård’s performance, and the trick of it is that you never catch him playing dumb. Yet Boy is often a beat behind what’s happening. That’s what makes us warm up to him; he’s a blood-spattered avenger in spite of himself. He turns the old ultraviolence into child’s play.

Reviewed at Regal Union Square, New York, April 24, 2024. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 115 MIN.

• Production: A Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions release of a Nthibah Pictures, Hammerstone Studios, Vertigo Entertainment production. Producers: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi, Roy Lee, Wayne Fitzjohn, Simon Swart, Stuart Manashil, Dan Kagan. Executive producers: Sipho Nkosi, Mxolisi Mgojo, Humphrey Mathe, Bill Skarsgård, Reza Brojerdi, Christian Mercuri, Moritz Mohr, Andrew Childs.
• Crew: Director: Moritz Mohr. Screenplay: Tyler Burton Smith, Arend Remmers. Camera: Peter Matjasko. Editor: Lucian Barnard. Music: Ludvig Forssell, El Michels Affair.
• With: Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Jamke Janssen, Sharlto Copley, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Andrew Koji.

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Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera's Relationship Timeline

The couple first met on the set of 'West Side Story' and costar in 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'

Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera are quickly becoming a Hollywood power couple.

After working together on Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake of West Side Story — in which Zegler starred as Maria and Rivera played Chino — the two shared the screen again in the Hunger Games prequel titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes .

The couple first went public with their romance in February 2021, and since then, they have wasted no time showing off their cute romance. From attending the Academy Awards together in honor of West Side Story 's Best Picture nomination to Rivera showing his support for Zegler at the Shazam! Fury of the Gods premiere, it's clear they have a lot of love for each other.

Here's a complete timeline of Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera's romance.

January 14, 2019: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera are cast in West Side Story

In January 2019, Deadline announced a handful of cast members for the West Side Story remake , including Zegler and Rivera. Zegler reacted to the news on Instagram, adding that she was honored to be cast alongside Rivera, Ariana DeBose, Rita Morena, and more in the film.

Summer 2019: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera film West Side Story together

West Side Story officially kicked off filming in the summer of 2019 in New York City, which is likely when Zegler and Rivera first met. In the film, Rivera's character Chino is set up with Zegler's Maria, though she eventually falls for Tony (Ansel Elgort).

February 17, 2021: Rachel Zegler tweets affectionately about Josh Andrés Rivera

A year before officially going public with their romance, Zegler posted about Rivera on Twitter, simply writing, "i love josh andres rivera."

December 4, 2021: Rachel Zegler posts about Josh Andrés Rivera while doing West Side Story press

While doing press for West Side Story , Zegler posted a collection of photos on Instagram , including a cuddly video of her and Rivera on the red carpet together. The gallery also includes Zegler and Rivera posing for a mirror selfie together. "pretty good week!" Zegler captioned the collection of images.

December 7, 2021: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera attend the West Side Story premiere

A few days after posting about Rivera on Instagram, the duo posed with their castmates on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of West Side Story . In a group photo, Rivera could be seen giving Zegler a loving look as she posed for the camera.

December 27, 2021: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera spend Christmas Eve together

On Dec. 27, Zegler reflected on her whirlwind past year , noting how she spent Christmas Eve with Rivera. "spending christmas eve with a man i have never met before, maybe you know him, he seems pretty cool— like he could be the love child of iron man and john wick, idk though," she jokingly wrote alongside a photo of her and Rivera wearing Christmas sweaters.

February 14, 2022: Rachel Zegler posts about Josh Andrés Rivera on Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day, Zegler and Rivera sparked dating rumors when the actress posted a photo of them together , writing, "committing valen-crimes." She also posted a video of them having dinner together on her Instagram Story, writing, "happy love day from me n mine."

March 18, 2022: Rachel Zegler thanks Josh Andrés Rivera in her National Board of Review speech

During the ​​National Board of Review gala on March 15, Zegler was awarded best actress for her role in West Side Story . Though she wasn't able to attend in person due to filming for the Snow White remake in London, she made sure to share her acceptance speech on Twitter a few days later.

In addition to thanking her family and friends, she also gave a shoutout to Rivera, writing, "I wish to extend my thanks to the love of my life, who I was blessed enough to meet on the set of this film many moons ago. Thank you for holding my hand in my dreams and in my reality. I love doing life with you. Thanks for making me laugh."

March 27, 2022: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera attend the Oscars

During the 2022 Oscars, where West Side Story was up for Best Picture, Zegler and Rivera made their official debut as a couple as they walked the red carpet together.

March 28, 2022: Rachel Zegler calls Josh Andrés Rivera her "better half"

The day after their big night at the Oscars , in which Zegler presented on stage with Jacob Elordi, the actress posted a collection of photos of her and Rivera from the event, writing, "couldn't have done any of it without my other half by my side." She also shared a cute video of them goofing off backstage writing, "life is a lot more fun with you."

March 29, 2022: Josh Andrés Rivera hilariously reacts to people shipping Jacob Elordi and Rachel Zegler at the Oscars

After Zegler and Elordi began trending for their cute behind-the-scenes moments at the Oscars , Rivera playfully shared a selfie of them together backstage, writing, "Friendly reminder that I was there also."

April 3, 2022: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera attend the Grammys

The couple attended the 2022 Grammys together in early April as Zegler performed the In Memoriam segment alongside a collection of Broadway stars, including Cynthia Erivo, Ben Platt, and Leslie Odom Jr.

April 4, 2022: Rachel Zegler posts about having fun with Josh Andrés Rivera

The day after attending the Grammys together, Zegler posted a cute picture of them holding hands on the red carpet, writing, "it's all so much more fun with you."

April 19, 2022: Rachel Zegler opens up about how Josh Andrés Rivera keeps her grounded

During her cover story for Elle magazine 's May Rising Star issue, Zegler opened up about Rivera, revealing how he keeps her grounded amid her rise to stardom.

"There's always this deep understanding of what I go through. Since [his experience was] on a different scale, he's able to bring me back to earth and tell me when it really doesn't matter," she said of Rivera. "Because he's removed from it to a certain degree, he's able to just snap me out of it, and tell me to stop checking my phone, or remind me of what actually matters, and remind me to be present, and to not focus on the opinions of 3,000 faceless strangers on the internet."

May 1, 2022: Rachel Zegler wishes Josh Andrés Rivera a happy birthday

On May 1, Zegler wished Rivera a happy birthday with a handful of sweet posts on social media. "you are everything i love about this world wrapped into one incredible man. in this life, i like just doing laundry and taxes with you. ;) happy birthday, joshua," she wrote alongside a lovey-dovey video of them smiling at each other .

June 9, 2022: Rachel Zegler calls Josh Andrés Rivera her best friend

A day after Best Friend's Day on June 8, Zegler shared a photo of her and Rivera . "i missed best friends day. here's mine," she tweeted alongside the black-and-white image of the pair.

June 15, 2022: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera are both cast in the Hunger Games prequel

On June 15, it was announced that Rivera and Zegler would be teaming up again for the upcoming Hunger Games prequel titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes , which is slated to hit theaters in 2023. While Zegler was previously announced as District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird in May, Rivera will be playing Sejanus Plinth, a Hunger Games mentor who befriends a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth).

June 15, 2022: Rachel Zegler says she's proud of Josh Andrés Rivera

The same day Rivera's casting in the Hunger Games prequel was announced, Zegler took to social media to share her excitement . "Never been prouder of someone in my life lemme tell you," she wrote next to a repost of the casting news on her Instagram Story. She followed up on Twitter , writing, "always and forever proud of my joshua."

November 8, 2022: Rachel Zegler celebrates The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes wrapping filming with Josh Andrés Rivera

As filming for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes came to a close, Zegler posted a lengthy tribute to the film's cast and crew on Instagram. In addition to shouting out her costar Tom Blyth and director Francis Lawrence, she also paid tribute to Andrés . Alongside a selfie of them from the set, she wrote, "to my favorite actor in the world, josh rivera, i love you so much. more and more each day. i am so glad we did this together."

March 14, 2023: Josh Andrés Rivera supports Rachel Zegler at the Shazam! Fury of the Gods premiere

In March, the couple stepped out at the premiere of Shazam! Fury of the Gods , in which Zegler stars alongside Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu. The two could be seen giving each other loving looks as they walked the red carpet.

April 27, 2023: Rachel Zegler shows her support for Josh Andrés Rivera in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes trailer

Following the release of the trailer for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes , in which they both star, Zegler retweeted a handful of posts about her boyfriend online. In response to one tweet of Rivera in the trailer, she wrote , "that's my baby and i'm proud."

October 24, 2023: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera attend TIME100 Next event

Craig Barritt/Getty

In late October 2023, the couple stepped out for the 2023 TIME100 Next event in N.Y.C. The two were seen posing for photographers at the event before sitting together inside.

October 30, 2023: Rachel Zegler marks her two-year anniversary with Josh Andrés Rivera

On Oct. 30, Zegler marked her anniversary with Rivera by posting a gallery of cute snapshots of their time together to her Instagram. “2 years!” Zegler, 22, wrote in the post’s caption. She added, “happy anniversary, whammo. i love you more and more each day.”

She concluded with a sweet parenthetical: “you are the most grounded part of me.”

 October 31, 2023: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera dress up as Scooby-Doo characters for Halloween

Gotham/WireImage

Zegler and Rivera wore coordinating Scooby-Doo costumes as they attended Heidi Klum's annual Halloween party in October 2023. Zegler dressed up as Daphne, while Rivera sported a Fred costume, complete with wigs.

November 1, 2023: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera promote Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in N.Y.C.

Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

In November 2023, Zegler and Rivera kicked off the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes press tour with a special event in Times Square. Alongside their costar Tom Blyth, the duo posed for cameras as they announced that Olivia Rodrigo would be featured on the film's soundtrack .

November 13, 2023: Rachel Zegler and Josh Andrés Rivera talk about working together in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

During the Hollywood premiere of  The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes , Zegler and Rivera opened up about what it was like working together . “Having a familiar face on any set, I think any young actor can attest, is the biggest form of comfort,” leading lady Zegler told PEOPLE on the red carpet.

“And also as [Rivera’s] girlfriend, his friend, and his coworker, it's amazing to see the trajectory of his career, and to witness his rise to stardom. I love him so much,” the actress fondly added.

Rivera agreed that being around his girlfriend on set was a “comfort” for him.  “I feel really lucky,” the actor shared with PEOPLE. “It was a really great source of comfort for me to have her with me so far away from home. We were in a different country. We got to explore that country together. It was absolutely lovely. I feel very fortunate."

November 16, 2023: Rachel Zegler shares a sweet post about Josh Andrés Rivera ahead of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes release

John Nacion/Variety via Getty 

Ahead of the release of their film, Zegler penned a sweet message to her boyfriend , who she affectionally called her "favorite scene partner" and "life partner."

"my josh: i love you," she captioned a clip of Rivera kissing her on the head. "thank you for each and every laugh upon our journey together." She concluded the post, adding, "many people ask me what the most unexpected part of my career has been, or the most rewarding, or the greatest change. the answer is always you.

May 1, 2024: Rachel Zegler celebrates Josh Andrés Rivera's 29th birthday

Zegler posted on Instagram about Rivera in honor of his 29th birthday. "I love him so very much," she wrote. " He is my very best friend . I am so lucky to be loved by him."

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