Hunger Games Part 3: Mockingjay Part 1 is a curiously structured film for Hollywood blockbuster entertainment. But, to be fair, parts 1 and 2 were as well. First half of the first two are weird publicity tours full of image making and fashion… second half brutal killing spree. Mockingjay part 1 is kind of like the first half of those first two movies only a lot darker in tone and in theme. It’s just as much about creating an image, but it’s more serious, more somber. Heck, one of the first lines of dialog in the movie is a survivor of the second saying, “I wish they had all died. I wish WE had all died” and it doesn’t get a lot happier from there.

Which isn’t to say it’s 100% gloom-fest. It has some lighter moments to brighten up the darkness and it’s an interesting story with some interesting ideas about image making.

It has a strong cast with many of the actors returning from the previous movies and now bolstered by Julianne Moore and Natalie Dormer (from Game of Thrones). With Moore, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymore Hoffman (who gets an “in loving memory” credit), Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright, and others, there’s a strong cast giving good performances, some with limited time.

But, ultimately, it’s the Jennifer Lawrence show and, once again, she proves she’s more than just the goofy image she projects in the real world. Girl can act and proves once again those oscars noms and wins are not a fluke. Which is nice to see from someone who could just treat this silly blockbuster franchise like a job at this point while saving her acting mojo for the Serious Films she makes.

And it helps she’s playing Katniss Everdeen who is one of the better action movie heroes. She’s not uber-powerful and perfect to a fault… she can kick ass and she has grit, but that’s not her default mode. She doesn’t want all of this, she has moments of doubt, and she can’t just turn on “hero mode” on request (in scenes as amusing on screen as they were in the book). I think an imperfect hero who can take some hits and express emotion is a far more interesting character than an action star who walks through a movie untouchable.

This movie, in the long run, is part 1 of 2 and, as such, ends abruptly and we have to wait an unconscionable full year for part 2. That said, if they had to split this book into two movies, they at least did it as well as they could. It covers the material that makes sense in this flick and it ends approximately where it should have ended. It’s still arguably a cynical money grab but at least it was a smart cynical money grab.

Score: 85