Albeit the obvious attempt to shake the money tree for all it’s worth, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is never the less an engaging film with a great cast and smart ideas, bolstering a movie franchise that towers over its many contemporaries.

Whoever was the brilliant bastard that came up with the idea to split the final novel of a franchise adaptation into two films (especially when one is more than suffice) must be getting a pat on the back all over Hollywood. With franchises to turn into cash machines and audiences more than willing to pay foot over fist, it’s a calculated move that has paid off.

This is especially true for the “Young Adult” market. Despite being sold the same story over and over again (you know it’s true YA acolytes), the devoted fan base have turned bestselling books into blockbuster movies.

The runaway best of the bunch is The Hunger Games series. With the talented Jennifer Lawrence starring as reluctant heroine Katniss, a smattering of veteran talent playing support and a capable filmmaker in Frances Lawrence steering this mighty YA ship in the right direction, The Hunger Games has managed to elevate above the awkwardness which comes with YA movies and become quality genre cinema in the process.

Now arrives The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1, the beginning of the end to an entertaining and ethically rich franchise set in a dystopian (what else?) world. With the “Games” part of the title over, and the downtrodden people of the outskirt “Districts” ready for revolution against the tyrannical “Capital” and its leader President Snow (Donald Sutherland), Katniss is recruited to lead the fight both on the battleground and the propaganda trail.

In every way …Mockingjay Part 1 feels like a build up to a battle spectacular, and it’s a rather good one at that. Where similar treatments from the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises were boring and uninvolving, …Mockingjay Part 1 has the dramatic stakes and the actors to make them that much more believable.

Much like the Harry Potter series had a who’s-who of excellent British talent playing supporting roles, …Mockingjay Part 1 brings together the stellar group of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Jeffrey Wright and Donald Sutherland, and makes fine use of their screen time. With a story that is about the injustice, anger, sadness, horror, conflict and marketing that leads to a declaration of war, strong actors are needed to bring drama to the calm before the storm.

Of course centre to all of this is Jennifer Lawrence, who gives another strong turn as the character that made her a star. Many a YA series has welcomely delivered many a lead female character, yet Lawrence’s Katniss is a special breed of savvy, fragility and rebellion that is easy to root for.

That Lawrence and her co-stars can prop up what is essentially half an epic and have us say “more please” is testament to their talents and that of director Francis Lawrence, who continues to do a great job adapting this franchise to the screen.