Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 - 10 Reasons It Sucks (And 2 It Doesn't)

...And 2 Reasons It Doesn't

2. Strong Performances

If there were two actors who were always going to deliver regardless of the rest of the movie, it's the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (Plutarch) and Julianne Moore (Alma Coin) who give easily the best performances in the entire movie. Though they're not exactly working with stellar material, their dialogues throughout create the most engrossing drama, as they throw themselves completely into their roles. Lawrence is meanwhile mostly business as usual, if not free from a few creaky moments of over-acting (and one unintentionally hilarious awakening from a bad dream). She does a solid enough job, while other supporting players, such as Sam Claffin, Harrelson, Sutherland and Hutcherson, do their best even if their screen time is extremely muted throughout. Even when the movie isn't being particularly interesting, it's fun to watch these actors just going at it (especially Moore and Hoffman), and had the series been in the hands of lesser actors, this bridging installment would have been decidedly less watchable.