The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part I comes out blazing. How could it not? Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, suited up again as the heroic Katniss Everdeen, is a firebrand for the ages. Returning director Francis Lawrence (no relation), working from a script by series newbies Peter Craig and Danny Strong, delivers the dazzle without sacrificing the smarts. The suspense is killer. Ditto the thrill of the hunt. The film uses the extra time to, of all things, develop characters and give this dystopian fable a human scale.

Those familiar with the book would know what to expect and may be satisfied with Part 1. However, if you have not read the book and base your expectations simply on The Hunger Games and Caching Fire, Mockingjay—Part 1 is dissatisfying.

The only thing Zid has going for it is the atmospheric chills it offers by way of perennially grey skies, dense foliage around the bungalow and beyond, and the sense of distant melancholy the camera lends to the scenes.

The decision to convert the already thinly-plotted final book in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy into two movies still remains highly debatable, but Mockingjay Part 1 manages to add more to the arguments in its favor than against it. The film manages to not be the disaster that it could’ve been, instead serving as an effective means of raising the curiosity and excitement levels for the final chapter. Go into the theaters with reasonable expectations, and you’ll come out thinking of the film more as an additional treat than a cash-grab ploy by the producers.

First, watch the first two films in this franchise. You will have to or you will be scratching your head through parts of the film. And it won’t be because of the dandruff.

Although this film is part one of two, it doesn’t feel tedious. There aren’t any endless scenes of waiting in dark, snowy places (a la Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1). There are no epic fight scenes or lengthy monologues, barring President Coin’s speeches. The movie ends with a scene that’s incredulously redeeming. yet leaves you feeling curiously hopeless.

The greedy suits have gone ahead and wrecked our cinematic experience once again. Where we could have had a cracker of an end to the Hunger Games franchise, what we get is half a novel, which, as expected, has more pauses than action, more waiting than doing.

Not very much happens in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. The studio’s decision to make two films from the final book in Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy may have made sense from a business point of view – hey, it worked for Harry Potter and Twilight! – but dramatically, it’s a bad move. The filmmakers take roughly half an hour’s worth of plot and thinly spread it over two long hours, giving us a movie that feels half-baked and wanting.

In which Katniss takes the backseat — you can call Mockingjay – Part I that. For, having split the final book into two films, there is little to do in the third edition of the Hunger Games franchise but build up to the finale next year.

Mockingjay – Part 1″ lacks the zing of an adventure film. During its entire run time, it just concentrates on creating a setting for the next part. Overall, the film is well-made and drab. It is not in the least entertaining or satisfying. Yet it lures you to look forward to the concluding edition

The sequel felt like more of the same with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the games designer Plutarch Heavensbee being the only plus point. The third book in the trilogy is split in two — I am sure it makes marketing sense, but am not sure how it helps the story. Julianne Moore is the only addition to the cast and she kills the role of rebel president Alma Coin with icy calm.

Whatever little excitement the film generates only happens in the final 20 minutes, so it’s a really long wait for those not gifted with the virtue called patience. The lack of action and a plot only makes it obvious that Mockingjay was split in two parts for monetary reasons.

The beauty of the film lies in the fact that as part of a blockbuster, massive hit series, it is rather unassuming of its importance. There’s a Lawrence-ish nonchalance of its effect on people and as much as it is very serious in nature, it doesn’t take its own success seriously. You are shocked and you’re forced to think, but you certainly get out of the theatre thinking that you’re glad you watched it.

You get thrust into a dystopian future where you will enjoy the ride. Each character of the film is layered and every actor brings their own touch to the film. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 connects you to Katniss, her struggle and the rebellion. It is a wonderful third film in The Hunger Games series. And of course, you get to see Philip Seymour Hoffman’s wonderful acting once again.