The odds are clearly not in Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) favor: her sister was reaped for the Hunger Games, so she volunteered to keep her safe. She made the Capitol look stupid with the help of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), and while she tried to tend to the flame, she couldn’t quell it, and so, the fire of rebellion caught and burned brightest. Now, the flame is settling, and seems poised to die down. After seeing Katniss hiding from District 13 officials in some random pipe room, continuing Jennifer Lawrence’s fine and tasteful PTSD performances, we see her settling into her new role as the mockingjay when Commander Boggs (Mahershala Ali) escorts her to a meeting with Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), who try persuading her to be the mockingjay for them. What follows is a story of war and propaganda that was all there in the book, but is the focus of this movie that covers the first 45% (rough estimate) of the book, and while it works out mostly, there is a serious pacing issue (this series seems to just have so many of these), which may or may not have anything to do with the splitting of the book into two parts: it takes 50 minutes to truly start, though they still have some dark action in the form of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) commentating over public executions in two of the districts where rebels (or as he calls it to avoid legitimizing them “radicals”) whose faces are covered (my guess to avoid humanizing them in the eyes of the undecided). We don’t see Katniss in action until 50 minutes in, but then she goes back to being a person who’s ruined. She gets her act together and does a propaganda shoot in District 12, then the rest of the movie happens, and if you read the book, I think my 45% estimate of how far in the story they get will inform you of that. What really hurts the pacing in my book is that a cliffhanger would have been more exciting than what they did. Something those who haven’t read the books would appreciate to maintain interest, while letting us readers/audiobook listeners feel they made good effort to split it up. Otherwise, everything they put/did on screen was for a reason, to advance what little plot-from-the-book they used. Katniss’ journey continues to entertain and her drive to protect those she loves and to do what she “never asked for.” The picture and effects are great, and District 13 is perfectly established as militaristic and efficient, from the dull grey clothes everyone (even the president) wears to the dull scenery, especially when you compare it to the Capitol’s lavish scenery, colorful outfits, and bright, colorful scenery. James Newton Howard once again brings a great soundtrack conveying the appropriate emotions, and it’s used appropriately, whether the only sounds we hear at the beginning are ambience and dialogue, or the blaring soundtrack over big action (One scene towards the end really benefits from seemingly dead silence). We get some good comic relief in Katniss’ first attempts at being the mockingjay on a soundstage, and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) brings the usual sarcasm and brutal honesty of his character to the meeting table to keep things interesting. The odds were clearly not in Lionsgate’s favor to split Mockingjay into two movies, but it can still be saved by quality effects and a camera that only shakes when it’s truly necessary. A fine film about war and propaganda dragged down by horrible pacing that makes us wish it took over an hour to get to the titular event.