Read. Breathe. Relax. Best Young Adult Book Reviews
Last night I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, the first part of the last movie in one of the largest and most successful YA book to movie franchises ever.
If you’ve seen the movie already too, please tell me what you thought in the comments!
Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
As a Movie
Because Mockingjay wasn’t my favorite book, I didn’t really know what to expect from the movie. Especially because it followed the trend of splitting the final story in two. I mean, Mockingjay was a tough book to get through anyway.
Some thoughts:
The move was very well acted. I thought Jennifer Lawrence’s performance was amazing. She’s proven herself to be a perfect Katniss and such a strong actress. I felt like she really became the character, you know?
Which is unfortunate because Katniss does a lot of crying in this the Mockingjay movie…
The colored contacts in Julianne Moore’s eyes (President Coin) were SUPER distracting. I’m not sure why it was such a big deal to change the color of her eyes, but they weren’t naturally looking.
Her weird looking eyes distracted me every time she was in a scene. Also her hair NEVER moves. Just a small weird observation.
This was not the movie to split apart. There’s so much darkness and sadness in Mockingjay. Although the movie was well acted – including Phillip Seymour Hoffman – and the special effects and plot were nicely executed, the action happens in stops and starts.
The subject matter is so heavy – deaths and war and strategy – that I think the hardcore action of the second half of the book would have helped balance things out.
The only comedic relief moments centered on Effie and Haymitch’s characters. Don’t even get me started on Effie – she’s just awesome all around.
Final thought….PEEETAAAAAA!!!!!!!
As a Book Adaption
Honestly, I looked on Shmoop for a summary of the events in Mockingjay. Because I have NO IDEA what happens other than a few key and memorable things.
Things seems pretty accurate, but I’ll leave that up to you do decide.
OVERALL:
The Mockingjay movie staid true to the Hunger Games movie franchise and is building up the the ultimate final battle between District 13 and the Capital. Even though I appreciated all the amazing acting from such talented people, I think the heaviness of the movie kept me from really enjoying it as much as its predecessors.
There’s so much crying and plotting and maneuvering that the movie would have been better as a whole had the second half not been omitted. I do think The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 will satisfy fans and leave viewers anxious for the conclusion of this epic series.
