Ladies and Gents, it’s back! — The Hunger Games that is!
Mockingjay, Part 1 made its premiere last night, and as a complete, read-the-books-twice nerd, I was obviously there and waiting in line to get a good seat in the theater. My final verdict of the movie is mixed.
Obviously, splitting any final installation into two could be troublesome, and I was iffy on splitting the last book up into two movies. But hey, I would too if I was making millions of dollars at the box office.
The movie itself was beautifully done, with amazing cinematography and top-notch actors. Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect Katniss: strong, beautiful, sassy, and tragic. You see a more emotional side to her as she deals with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) being left behind in the Capitol. I think this is the first movie you finally see Katniss’ true feelings when it comes to Peeta. Although, she obviously can’t ignore the beauty that is Gale (Liam Hemsworth). I would say you also see a different side to Gale too; the two movies prior Gale has always been a character kind of in the shadows, but in this one he takes on the role of a leader in District 13, and someone Katniss can lean on, where as Peeta is sort of the secondary character.
The movie, although very intense with a lot of death and destruction, has some comic relief with Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks). She finds herself feeling very out of place in the monotonous, one-jumpsuit world of District 13, and you can’t help but laugh at her tendencies and misfortunes.
The comic relief was something I liked, but also something I disliked. I thought it kind of took away from the plot line and the actual issues going on in Katniss’ life. I guess that is what you get when you split one 300-something-paged book into two, two-half-hour-long movies: some parts prolonged just to fill the movie.
Overall, I liked the movie a lot, and will most likely go see it again in theaters and then buy it on DVD (no shame). But do I wish they made it one, action-packed movie? Absolutely.