Cute boys, a gutsy heroin, dying children, and an overly dramatic civil war. It's everything a dystopian movie needs to become the next big thing! Yes, of course, I'm talking about the latest instalment of the Hunger Games Trilogy (quad-ogy?), Mockingjay Part 1. It's been on our screens for a week now and after hearing some mixed reports, I thought I'd check it out myself. (Confession time: I was unsure whether the movie was worth my $15, so I saw it on Cheap Tuesday! Yewww!)
Although I've read Mockingjay twice, I'd forgotten just how different it is from the orignial Hunger Games. Just take a moment to remember the brave 16yr old that just volunteered to save her sister. That was the selfless story that we all fell in love with. To say the least, Mockingjay seems very very distant from that first reaping. The series has all escalated to this final movie, and to be honest, it seems much more like a war film than any sort of teen dystopian.
After Katniss started a rebellion in Catching Fire, the Capitol wants to show the public that they can't get away with any kind of trouble. The stakes are high, and there are a countless number of casualties. Some of the scenes were much scarier than I was anticipating, just because of the high stakes and you know... random dead bodies. With all of this, it seems the characters have aged significantly through the series. They all seem older, and more mature. Prim, especially, grows up heaps in this movie. We see her start working in hospitals with a greater understanding, and responsibility than ever before. But one thing we know Prim will never grow out of is her love for the stupid cat. I'd like to say Katniss has matured too, because she has to a certain extent. However, I have to mention that Katniss seems to have really lost it at some points. In the first few scenes she seems to be going a little crazy under the stress of everything. But then she's magically ok, then she goes a bit mental again. Maybe I wasn't supposed to notice that...
I'm going to give special mention to my two favourite things about this movie. The first is that the music/sound effects/audio is i n c r e d i b l e. I'm not that much of a music person, but the audio in the movie really stood out to me. It does everything good audio should, building the mood and suspense to the movie. Then there's that killer Lorde track. That one plays through the credits, and calls for a compulsory dance party as you exit the cinema. Yes, I did just say compulsory dance party.
Another thing I just adored in this movie was Effie Trinket. She is back, like you have never seen her before. The Effie of purple hair and ridiculous couture is gone, replaced with Effie 2.0, who rocks a bandana and a jumpsuit. It goes without saying that Effie is quite out of her depth in District 13. She is still able to be a great support to Katniss, but in a very different sense than during the games. But through all this discomfort, Effie comes out with some really hilarious one liners that had the whole cinema in stitches. The movie is worth it, just for that.
There are a number of twists and turns in the actual plot of the movie, but when you think about it, it is quite repetitive. The basis of the movie is Katniss makes video, Capitol makes reply video, Katniss makes reply to reply video, Capitol makes reply to reply to reply video etc. etc. I wouldn't say its boring at all, because the characters face different challenges in the making of each video, but it is quite a repetitive plot. The last few scenes of the movie were my favourites, undoubtably. I'm not going to spoil anything, but those last scenes are breathtaking. Another character comes into play, and the story takes a dramatic, and fairly unexpected turn. I personally think they end the movie in the wrong spot, and that the very last scene could be in the next movie. But who am I to judge?
The characters we all love have developed and grown together to fight the Capitol in a civil war. The plot is fairly uneventful aside from some risky missions/fighting. Despite this, Mockingjay Part 1 does a fantastic job of setting everything up for Mockingjay Part 2. But that leaves me thinking... WHAT IS THE POINT OF SPLITTING EVERYTHING INTO TWO PARTS!?
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