The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Review

RYAN: It’s Part 1 of the final installment of The Hunger Games franchise and I’m thrilled to be reviewing with my niece, Gaby, who’s celebrating her 14th birthday this week.  We both read and are fans of the books, so we were both eagerly looking forward to this and what can be said aside from that it’s so good!  It sucks you right in and holds you like glue.  Parts are riveting to the point where I felt like i was drooling, waiting for the next moment to come.

GABY: I loved it too, even more than I thought I would. It’s, like, one of my favorite movies.

RYAN: The only complain I have is that it’s split into two and I don’t want to wait a year for the conclusion!  This wasn’t a Deathly Hallows-sized book so it really could have all been one movie.  That being said, I loved every minute of this and it’s one helluva cliffhanger!

GABY: That’s what I thought.  I was so into it the entire time.

RYAN: Me too.  There were moments throughout the film where I alternately wanted to applaud out loud or where I was getting emotional and teary eyed.  Did you too?

GABY: Yes I totally cried a couple times.

RYAN: It’s so rousing if you care about Katniss at this point.  We’re three movies in and we’re invested.  Some of the big themes that build throughout the whole series really come to a head here — some even parallel the real world, like the wealthy one percent versus everyone else, uprising and fighting for justice, the abuse of power… big issues in this dystopian science fiction landscape.

GABY: I wondered a few times during the movie what it would be like if our world were actually like these Districts.  It would be so scary.

RYAN: The design, as is consistent with these movies, is cool.  This one is much less lush and opulent than the previous two because everything is run down and there’s no Capitol fashion but we do see the Mockingjay costume and all the people in their onesie jumpsuits still have a very cool design perspective.

GABY: I loved the way everything looked.

RYAN: All of the performances are great.  This movie gives Jennifer Lawrence the farthest to go, emotively.   She won the Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook but she’s, again, so good in this movie that it’s like she’s earning it all over again.  It’s a truly fine performance.

GABY: She’s so good.  I loved seeing how much she loved Peeta and also when she returned to District 12 and dropped to her knees because of all the devastation there, you could really feel what she was feeling.

RYAN: Totally.  Katniss is a very unique role.  She’s so guarded and hardened, controlled but she’s actually very emotional and that’s where her fight comes from – her empathy and she cares so much.

GABY: She’s very cool.

RYAN: Julianne Moore, new to this film, as President Coin, is exactly as I imagined she would be from the book.  She nails it.  And then it was so bittersweet seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman.  The movie is dedicated to his memory and he’s so great that it’s wonderful and sad to see him.

GABY: Everyone was so good in it that while you’re watching, you just believe everything you’re seeing.

RYAN: Elizabeth Banks, even without all the fanfare, was still brillz in the role of Effie Trinket.  You want more of her.  And Josh Hutcherson, as Peeta, was great.  If you’ve read the book, you know what to expect but it was really fun having all the anticipatory anxiety about how they they adapt it to screen.  It’s very cool to see this all come to life.

GABY: I love Josh.  Everything he does makes me feel like I’m on the edge of my seat.  And I love him with Jennifer.  I actually liked this book the least but it’s my favorite of the movies so far.

RYAN: It’s great.  I can’t wait for the next one and I already wanna see this one again.

Thanks For Viewing The The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Review