The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Lionsgate | Release Date: November 21, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 46 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
15
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
HitfixDrew McWeenyNov 18, 2014
The film explores the way propaganda is used to set the stage for a conflict, and considering this is a mainstream franchise aimed primarily at young audiences, it's actually a pretty interesting take on how image matters as much as action in a media age. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'HehirNov 20, 2014
A penultimate chapter without a real ending, but it’s also a thrilling ride full of potent emotions, new characters and major twists of fate, built around another commanding star performance. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia PuigNov 20, 2014
It's easily the most political of the three films. It also is the most absorbing and best in the series. Read full review
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 20, 2014
With Mock 1, the Hunger Games franchise continues to entertain and evolve, not perfectly but smartly, so we can't wait to see what's next. That's what counts when all is said, done and deposited in the bank. Read full review
83
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeNov 10, 2014
Suffice it to say that while Mockingjay, Part 1 might not be as consistently thrilling as “Catching Fire” — the second movie always has the luxury of being all PB&J and no crust — it's the movie equivalent of a page-turner, consistently suspenseful and filled with surprises and illuminating character moments. Read full review
80
The DissolveGenevieve KoskiNov 20, 2014
The trifecta of Lawrence, Moore, and Hoffman is the movie’s driving force, from both a plot and performance perspective. Together, they imbue Mockingjay with a sense of gravity and significance befitting its tough themes. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNov 17, 2014
A part with this much sobbing, hand-wringing, and mournful gazing into the middle distance could be, in the wrong hands, a laugh riot, but Lawrence’s instincts are so smart that she never goes even a shade overboard. She’s a hell of an actress. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeNov 11, 2014
While it definitely takes its foot off the action, Mockingjay – Part 1 goes deeper and darker. Read full review
80
Total FilmKevin HarleyNov 10, 2014
With measure and muscle, Lawrences Jennifer and Francis nail the job of selling the long, twisting road towards revolution. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaNov 20, 2015
If Mockingjay - Part 1 is quieter and less flashy than its predecessors, that doesn't make it less satisfying. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanNov 20, 2015
This installment substitutes psychological action for physical thrills. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 21, 2014
What's missing from Mockingjay - Part 1 is a strong through-story. The previous films were characterized by engrossing, well-constructed story arcs but Mockingjay - Part 1 meanders. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsNov 20, 2014
Although it doesn’t make a lick of sense as a stand-alone story, Mockingjay — Part 1 is the first “Hunger Games” movie with meat on its bones. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezNov 20, 2014
Dark, grim and exciting entertainment. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 20, 2014
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. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 20, 2014
Not everything in “Mockingjay” is dynamic or remarkable. Director Lawrence, working from Peter Craig and Danny Strong's screenplay, occasionally mistakes somnambulance for solemnity. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 19, 2014
Ultimately, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 serves as solid if unspectacular first lap around the track of a two-lap race. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineRichard Scott LarsonNov 19, 2014
As a metaphor for the way we respond to the media, and the way our politics are funneled through the media lens, the film succeeds most when it revels in ambiguity. Read full review
75
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthNov 19, 2014
It's rare to see any blockbuster in any genre make decisions informed and driven by character, rather than by the more superficial requirements of blockbuster entertainment, but the rewards in that regard are plentiful in Mockingjay. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 20, 2014
As smart as this film is about image-making in the age of all-pervasive media, the theme threatens to wear thin until Katniss comes to a new and moving awareness of her power, not just as a figurehead fashioned and elaborately feathered by political consultants but as a source of authentic inspiration to her shattered nation. Read full review
70
SlateDana StevensNov 20, 2014
If Mockingjay’s placeholder status is a little too evident in its choppy, shapeless structure, this dark third chapter does have stretches of somber beauty. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisNov 20, 2014
The script for Mockingjay Part 1, credited to Peter Craig and Danny Strong, gets the job done, but the performers matter far more than the words they deliver. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 19, 2014
Director Francis Lawrence does a nice job capturing the claustrophobic environment of District 13 and has a good eye for action shots. But the actors are what really sell the movie. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonNov 18, 2014
If you break the script down into plot points, it sounds a little silly: The narrative thrust is simply Katniss shooting several pro-revolution commercials. But it works because we're fascinated by media fights — thousands occur online every day. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangNov 10, 2014
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. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Nov 19, 2014
It’s good for business but bad for drama, and the inelegantly titled Mockingjay—Part 1 suffers from an unavoidable sense of anticlimax. It doesn’t build to an ending so much as just eventually grind to a halt, like a video game demanding more quarters to continue playing. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyNov 19, 2014
The biggest problem with the new Hunger Games movie is right there in the title: Part 1. Mockingjay, the final installment in Suzanne Collins' best-selling YA trilogy, wasn't conceived in two parts. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzNov 21, 2014
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. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 19, 2014
It’s a joyless, surpassingly dour enterprise, but one that fulfills its mission with Katniss’s own eagle-eyed efficiency and unsentimental somberness. Read full review
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