The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Society quivers on the cusp of all-out civil war in the penultimate instalment of the Hunger Games series. The hidden dissidents of Panem's District 13 are preparing to take on the might of the Capitol, with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) the reluctant face of their revolution, while Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is still a pawn of dastardly President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The earlier episodes worked better as individual films, with the games providing satisfying narratives within narratives; given this, and the absence of true closure, Part 1 feels like a bridging film. Nevertheless, Jennifer Lawrence delivers complexity and conviction in the lead, and director Francis Lawrence is a solid hand at the helm, with matters left excitingly poised for the Part 2 climax. Crammed with well-drawn characters and intelligent ideas, the franchise remains as robust and rule-breaking as its idiosyncratic protagonist.