“The courage of one will change the world.” This is the tagline of the third installment of one of the most successful teen franchises since Harry Potter and Twilight. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 hit theaters on November 21, and has gone on to gross over $500 million in a matter of a few weeks. The movie is based off of the first half of the final installment in The Hunger Games trilogy. Although the movie does follow in the vein of its two predecessors, it also differs vastly in tone and political criticism.

The movie follows protagonist Katniss Everdeen’s journey through dealing with PTSD after being rescued from the destroyed arena in the previous movie, while also aiding the rebels in fighting a war against The Capitol. Jennifer Lawrence brilliantly plays a girl scarred by brutality, worried for those she cares about, and unsure about the future. The distinct characters provide a welcoming balance, with serious characters such as Julianne Moore’s portrayal of President Coin contrasting less serious characters, such as the quirky and outlandish Effie Trinket. The movie mostly stays true to the plot of the first half of the book. This is a double-edged sword; it captures the author’s messages about political oppression and social injustice, but it also displays the lack of violent action many people found entertaining about the first two movies. There are several action scenes strewn throughout the movie, but the absence of a proper hunger games that drew people to the first two movies slows down the pace of Mockingjay. Having read all three books, I appreciated that the movie stayed loyal to the source material, instead of adding movie scenes for the sake of satisfying the tastes of its young adult audience.

Overall, fans of the book series will be satisfied with Mockingjay – Part 1. The events of the book translated beautifully on screen, and the scenes added were ones that would have happened if Mockingjay was not written from a first person point of view. The movie perfectly sets the scene for what will most definitely be an exciting final conclusion to an exciting and meaningful franchise.