Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Picture: Lionsgate, Murray Close)

Jennifer Lawrence is set to finally become the Mockingjay when The Hunger Games: Mockingjay arrives in cinemas on November 20 and, in a world where many sequels pale in comparison to their predecessors, The Hunger Games films are somehow going from strength to strength with every new outing.

Here are six reasons why The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is so impressive.

1. Jennifer Lawrence

Lawrence’s portrayal of Katniss Everdeen has been one of the most enthralling and fully realised of recent years, with the many conflicting emotions of this central character captured so well by the actress.


She continues her incredible work here as we see Katniss battling her own mental fragility, being separated from Peeta and struggling to become the Mockingjay when all she wants to do is hide.

Jennifer Lawrence shows the many layers to Katniss Everdeen (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

2. Gale



There from the very beginning, Katniss’s best friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) has spent much of the first two films watching the story unfold from afar, unable to do anything himself but keep going the best he can.

Gale has looked after Katniss’s family while she battled in the games, continuing to hunt and provide for them and his own family.

Now that she’s out and back by his side, there’s a lot more Liam Hemsworth for viewers to enjoy.

Getting to see him tell more of Gale’s story offers a fascinating exploration into what happens to those left behind.

After all, Katniss has suffered – but she is not the only one.

3. The emotional turmoil



In a world where everything is for the camera, taking Katniss out of the arena and landing her in the middle of the revolution was always going to be an emotional journey.

Suzanne Collins, the author of the book trilogy on which these films are based, has made no secret of the fact that she wanted to write a story not just about war but about how it affects all the people who are involved, and that is clearly evident here.

We see Katniss’s breakdown and her turmoil over becoming the Mockingjay but there is also time to see how the games have affected other characters like Finnick and Haymitch and all the many unfamiliar faces across the districts.

4. The bad acting (seriously!)

(Picture: Moviestore Collection/Rex)

In the first film, audiences watched as Jennifer Lawrence took on Katniss Everdeen acting for the cameras of the Capitol.

Well it’s all been for show and she knew it and did what she could to survive.

Now, with Katniss needed to inspire the districts to fight together, we see more of her performing for the cameras.

Of course, she’s not very good at it which is brilliant to watch, largely because we all know just how good Lawrence really is.

It takes a really talented actress to act so badly you know she’s brilliant.

5. The scope of the film

So far we have just seen glimpses of the other districts of Panem: there has been a hint of uprising and we’ve met some of the previous victors.



In this film, however, we really start to look closer at the different districts.

Panem is about to get so much bigger.

6. District 13

Speaking of getting bigger, there’s a whole new district to discover.

Long gone are the greens and the mines of District 12 or the opulence of the Capitol.

District 13 is a dark, underground world full of grey and almost entirely devoid of colour.

The district reflects the darker tone of this story and makes a stark change from the first two films which blended the horror of the games with the fake smiles of reality TV but the introduction of this new district opens up the world of The Hunger Games in a whole new way.