Maybe I’m just a nerd when it comes to young-adult books and their movie adaptations, but before its release, I was keeping a close eye on the days left until The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 was coming to theatres. I mean, really, it’s hard not to be in love with Katniss and her adventures.
In the first two movies, the main action takes place in the Games themselves, allowing for intense problem solving and creative, cunning, crafty actions. Mockingjay, on the other hand, is about what happens when Katniss turns things upside down, and chaos breaks loose. What that means is that Mockingjay explores social systems and power and revolt.
Overall, the tone of the movie is quite solemn, but it makes up for the lack of humour through intensity. I’m very impatient and often I’m counting down the minutes until movies are over, but with Mockingjay, I was engaged the whole time. The acting, music, and everything else made it so that I felt emotionally invested.
The characters that we have read about in the trilogy and watched in the first two movies continue to be full of energy and attitude. Peeta, however, is quite a frustration in this movie, but if you’ve read the books, you’ll know what that’s about. That being said, I still found myself annoyed by his actions and words, even though I knew what was going on.
Even if you’re not a Hunger Games fan, I still urge you to watch this movie, because it has something for everyone: emotion, attitude, cinematic effect, action and violence, social issues, and deep questions/values. If you still aren’t convinced, just go watch it to enjoy a couple hours of your time. Do it.