Mockingjay | Movie review

So guys, it happened. This past week Mockingjay hit the big screen and it’s safe to say I was one of the first in line to see it. I know it’s been a few days, but I needed to collect my thoughts before I wrote this. With that said, I feel like I’m finally in a place where I can cohesively tell you what I thought, so lets get started. Oh, and this is going to be spoiler free… if that changes I’ll let you know further down!

First of all, the acting. Wow. I was so, incredibly impressed with Mr Hutcherson in this film, he 100% convinced me he was Peeta, and I hated watching him disintegrate, but loved the way they did it. On a similar note, hats off to the make up team for his look in the final scenes, it was the perfect combination of creepy and cuddle-worthy. (I could rattle on for another paragraph about the awesomeness that is Jennifer Lawrence, but you already know that, so I’m going to take it for granted and spring past it.)

In terms of the actual script, I’m so glad they brought Effie back. It wouldn’t have been the same without her and she brought some much needed comedy to a pretty dark film. I also want to look at Coin for a second, I hated her in the book from the very beginning, but somehow they managed to transform her into a more sympathetic character, which I liked… Snow is enough of a villain at this point, we don’t need Coin too.

The set, costume and soundtrack were all good… nothing to write home about, but overall solid and didn’t detract from the film or the story. I would however like to say that I’ve had the Hanging Tree stuck in my head for days and I really need to get it out… any suggestions are more than welcome!

That’s really all I have to say about the film itself, but can I just take a second to review the reviews? I understand that some people thought nothing happened in this film and that it was ‘boring’. To them I ask this question, so what?

This film is the third in a series, therefore you shouldn’t be watching it as a stand alone film. Both the original and Catching Fire were action packed and fast paced and this one wasn’t… that doesn’t make it a bad film!

This film wasn’t riddled with killing, it was more subtle focussing on Katniss relationship with Gale, her family, life in 13, her conflicting feelings over Peeta, his dissension into madness etc. It was a more acquired taste. However, it did offer the perfect platform for people to fall in love with the characters. You didn’t get to see a lot of Plutarch in Catching Fire and Coin is a new addition entirely, in order for Part 2 to pack a punch, they needed this film, and this extra few hours, to really get you invested in the story and people, particularly if you haven’t read the book. Also, this film takes place in front of a totally different backdrop to the previous two, and so the new world and system needed to be established before the film could proceed successfully.

I’m not necessarily saying if I were translating this series to film I would have split Mockingjay, but I do understand why they did it. Plus, is one more year really going to kill us?

Overall, I'm going to give this film an 8/10... a pretty solid score coming from me! 

What did you guys think? Did you like Mockingjay, or did it leave you a little sad, let me know!

xx