There is some kind of disease going around Hollywood. Its got Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Its got The Hobbit. And now its claimed the final instalment of the Hunger Games trilogy. This is an illness that sees directors more concerned with sucking every last dreg of cash out of the box-office cow, than they are with creating a genuinely well-paced movie that feels like it at least has enough plot, dialogue, and action to keep audiences engaged for the entirety of its running time. Directors are instead splitting their adaptations into as many parts as possible all in the name of profit.

Of course, this is hopelessly naïve. But after sitting through 123 minutes of Jenifer Lawrence’s face in close up I feel that I am entitled to dream of the film that could have been. Die-hard fans of the movie won’t be disappointed, and the film had some great moments: Julianne Moore is superb as President Coin, bringing just the right mix of sympathy and calculated ruthlessness to leave you guessing about the real nature of her revolution.

Elizabeth Banks steals the show as Effie who, stripped of the trappings of the Capitol, appears soft, wounded and yet still resiliently herself. She, along with Prim’s cat, also provides some much-needed comedic relief in the film. These moments are lost in a sea of slow close-ups, poignant looks and long, panning shots all set to an intense soundtrack that tries to trick the audience into thinking that something is happening, and that we care about it.

We get to see J-Law’s oh-my-goodness-I’m-in-utter-shock-and-disbelief face at least 1,000 times. However, it’s not all the film’s fault. Mocking Jay is, admittedly, a much slower book than the others in the trilogy, and much of it takes place in an underground bunker which, let’s face it, isn’t that cinematically pleasing. It’s also a book that focuses on the inaction of its central heroine, and it’s hard to make a revolution film centered on inaction. The good news? With the return of everyone’s favourite pastry chef the film really picks up in the last twenty minutes, and its been set up perfectly for an absolutely show-stopping grand finale next year.