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.

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.

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.

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