The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
I don't get into fads.
That's how I wanted to start this review, but then I realized that I do get into fads, which is why I own all Harry Potter films on DVD, am working on a James Bond collection in general, and have a Star Wars poster on my bedroom wall.
However, movie trilogies (or should we call them quadrilogies...I'll get back to this) that are birthed today, I don't generally get into. Why? Well, most of the stories just don't interest me or seem to have been sparked due to the popularity of another.
The Hunger Games is usually that other that got so popular, we now have an onslaught of movie adaptations based upon young adult novels, most of which are okay at best (The Maze Runner), and others which are appalling (Divergent).
Mockingjay Part 1 is the first of two movies that were made out of the third book in the Hunger Games series. It stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, revising her role from the previous two films, and the supporting cast is rounded up with Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks. I've always adored the casting in the Hunger Games movies. These actors and actresses just so perfectly capture the characters they're assigned to, which is one thing that made me love the first two movies so much.
The plot of this movie is basic and dull. Katniss has been chosen to represent the Mockingjay figure for the rebellion against the villainous Capitol, and we're stuck watching her make propaganda films to stoke the fire. It feels like an extended trailer for the final film in the series, which is why I believe this book shouldn't have been split in two. The most exciting stuff happens in the latter half of the book, so what's the point of this first half. Not to say that the movie isn't watchable...it's just not necessary to split it up. STOP doing this Hollywood. It wasn't needed for Twilight, it definitely wasn't needed for this, and f$%k you for doing it to Divergent and The Maze Runner.
Ranting aside, all I can say is that Mockingjay 1 is just adequate. It shouldn't have existed on its own, but it's still watchable. However, it's really nothing to write home about.
3/5 stars
Mockingjay Part 1 is the first of two movies that were made out of the third book in the Hunger Games series. It stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, revising her role from the previous two films, and the supporting cast is rounded up with Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks. I've always adored the casting in the Hunger Games movies. These actors and actresses just so perfectly capture the characters they're assigned to, which is one thing that made me love the first two movies so much.
The plot of this movie is basic and dull. Katniss has been chosen to represent the Mockingjay figure for the rebellion against the villainous Capitol, and we're stuck watching her make propaganda films to stoke the fire. It feels like an extended trailer for the final film in the series, which is why I believe this book shouldn't have been split in two. The most exciting stuff happens in the latter half of the book, so what's the point of this first half. Not to say that the movie isn't watchable...it's just not necessary to split it up. STOP doing this Hollywood. It wasn't needed for Twilight, it definitely wasn't needed for this, and f$%k you for doing it to Divergent and The Maze Runner.
Ranting aside, all I can say is that Mockingjay 1 is just adequate. It shouldn't have existed on its own, but it's still watchable. However, it's really nothing to write home about.
3/5 stars
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