The third installment in the highly popular Hunger Games movie franchise, Mockingjay – Part 1, which was released Friday in 85 territories, was very well done though it lacked action in comparison  to its predecessors.

Many critics and fans alike have given the book-based film heavy criticisms for being a “Part 1.”  In truth, this truly was not necessary, though the motivation behind the decision is clear. Another movie means more money for everyone involved with the franchise. The movie was, however, able to show more of the Capitol standpoint and tell a slightly more vivid story than the one portrayed in the book because of the extra time allotment.

The action element of the movie was quite different than those of the previous two films, but Mockingjay tells a very different story than that of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Mockingjay is a book about war and propaganda, not the Hunger Games and besides that it’s narrator is likely suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder. It’s much more difficult to read than the first two installments in The Hunger Games Trilogy. The action in Mockingjay Part – 1 changes from hand to hand combat, mutation fights, fireballs, and the occasional poisonous fog to much less constant, but more devastating bombings and the use of no more than two explosive arrows. While the action is there, it is different and less frequent. Fans who didn’t read the books were left with an unfed hunger and expectation for what they had seen in the previous two movies.

Because of the slight lack of expected action and the fact the film was a “Part 1,” many are failing to see Mockingjay – Part 1 for what it is, a great film. The acting of the all-star cast was nothing less than top-notch. Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark) arguably made some of their best performances. Fans of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays Plutarch Heavensbee, a double-agent gamemaker who helps Katniss escape from the arena in the end of Catching Fire, does a commendable job in what will be one of his last films.

Though the film has not done as well as its predecessors who made 67 and 70 million dollars on their opening days, Mockingjay – Part 1 will still likely hold the spot of the largest opening day of the year in nearly all of the 85 territories in which it has been released with an earnings of $55 million on Friday at the U.S. box office alone. The new film will also likely take the top spot for the highest grossing opening of 2014 with $130 million, which is $30 million more than Transformers: Age of Extinction that previously held the spot. Mockingjay – Part 1 is film you should definitely not miss.