Initial Thoughts
I came out of the cinema a little bit stunned, to be honest. Throughout the entire movie I thought I was going to pass out, and by the end I was kind of floating around like a ghost. I didn’t think this movie was going to top part one, which is my favourite of the four, and I was right. But only just.
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Characters
These characters have been through so much and it hurts me. I don’t even know what to say about Katniss and Peeta and Haymitch and the rest. Even Gale, who had to watch his District burn to the ground. It’s all too much.
Coin is more present in this one and I loved how the audience is slowly meant to realise what an absolute dick she is. Snow’s awful too, but they’re two different kinds of evil. When Coin suggested having a Hunger Games with the Capitol’s children I lost it, and several people in the cinema gasped.
We didn’t see much of Prim at all, which was disappointing. I guess if you’re marathoning the movies then you’ll see a lot of her, but for those who don’t, I do wonder what kind of an impact everything would have on them in regards to her. Book fans excluded, of course.
Pacing
This movie kept running like it was on fire. There wasn’t a dull moment or a slow point, and I was on the edge of my seat (or, rather, lying down on it) the entire time. Everything kicks off when Katniss goes to the Capitol, and it just keeps going. The sewer sequence? Probably my favourite ten minutes of cinema this year. It absolutely blew me away, and I thought my heart was going to give out.
Adaptation-wise
Mockingjay is my least favourite of the books, and I think that’s because it was always intended to be a movie. Book fans can disagree with me all they like, but it was so much better on the big screen. I haven’t read the book for five years, so I can’t pick out the minor details, but overall everyone involved did a great job of adapting the book to screen. The anti-war message is both prevalent and powerful, and considering what is going on in the world right now it is more relevant than ever. I loved it to pieces.
Favourite Bits
- The sewers. As soon as they entered the sewers I was internally screaming, and I don’t think I breathed at all during the whole ten or fifteen minutes that they were down there. Having read the book, I knew what was coming, and I started to sink down in my seat. My friend sitting next to me hasn’t read the books and she said I was making her nervous. Well the directing and the editing and the suspense was making ME nervous!
- “Nightlock. Nightlock. Nightlock.”
- Josh’s acting. His whole PTSD thing was really, really well done. I am not the biggest fan of Peeta because I found him very bland in the books, but Josh really improved upon the character in his portrayal.
- Finnick. Everything about him was flawless and I loved how we got a lot of Finnick/Katniss. KINNICK IS MY OTP.
Sucky Bits
- The CGI. While it was better than in previous movies, some scenes still looked incredibly fake. Particularly the crowd at the end when Katniss is to kill Snow. You’d have thought things would look perfect, considering the budget these movies have, but nope.
- The epilogue. It wasn’t good in the books and it was awful in the movie. And again, the CGI and/or editing. AWFUL.
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