Movie Maddness: Mockingjay

I have to admit that I had a lot of trepidation about Mockingjay, and it wasn't really because they decided to split it into two movies.  My issues really stemmed from my dissatisfaction with the book itself, especially after loving Catching Fire, which is still my favorite book of The Hunger Games trilogy.  While I wasn't really upset with the book being different from the pattern created in the two books (emotional buildup until we hit the arena), I just felt that the book was rushing to get us to the end, and even though the acts of the finale were a shock, what felt effortless in the first two books, seemed hurried and labored in the third.

****It should go without saying that there are spoilers in the rest of this post.  I will attempt to keep things clean of what will transpire in Mockingjay, Part 2, but you've been warned.****

To be completely honest, I began this blog last Monday, November 24th, but due to work and the holiday, I haven't been able to finish it.  So, I am picking this up a week later after marinating on it some more, and I would like to go see it again, which is the best recommendation I can give.  I've also bandied about re-reading the book just to see how close things jibe to the adaptation, and if I do, I will probably to an follow up.  However, I am still pleased with the movie, and I believe the changes truly enhanced the narrative.

While the first two novels were enhanced by Katniss as the first person narrator, Mockingjay really
suffers from it.  There is so much going on in the background while Katniss is dealing with the horrors of the Games, that moving to a true third person narrative for the film really corrects some of the problems I had with it.  Plus, you're able to see District 13 through your own eyes and not just through the PTSD addled view of Katniss.  For instance, President Alma Coin is a much more fully realized character in the movie, which will make the ending of the Part 2 all the more intense.  You are also given a lot more time to learn about Gale and Prim, who have been nothing more than ciphers.  All of this is very important to the end of Part 2, and I could not happier with how they are portrayed.

I am a bit infuriated with the number of people that I have heard say, "Nothing Happened!"  The fact that the creative team took their time to develop characters in Part 1 should be commended. Everyone needed to take a beat and witness the spreading fire from the second film.  The scenes from the Districts 5 and 7 showing the rebellion were absolutely necessary to show, and the raid on the Capitol, which wasn't much in the book because Katniss was still in District 13, was a great set piece to bring the movie to a close.  Not to mention the hospital scene and "The Hanging Tree," were just powerful ways to show Katniss coming to terms with her role in this whole thing.

If I have one complaint, it is that I think the movie should have ended with a true cliffhanger, at least for people who haven't read the book.   In interviews, I've heard this referred to as the Breaking Bad ending, because it was so bleak and people might have been angry.  **Heavy Spoilers**  I think once Peeta attacks Katniss, and she starts to black out.  The movie should have faded to black and rolled the credits.  It just seemed a bit lame to go through the explanation, and I also absolutely don't think Alma Coin would have monologued the plan for the second movie in a broadcast that could have been intercepted by anyone!

This was a very fine addition to The Hunger Games universe, and I would like to close with two other stray observations.  Bringing Effie Trinket into the movie was just brilliant, because she gives quite a bit of comic relief.  Also, since the rest of Effie's team really wasn't that developed in the previous movies as they were in the books, it just made sense to not introduce unnecessary characters.  Secondly, Natalie Dormer as Cressida is a major standout to me, and if she doesn't get cast as a Marvel Superhero soon (Captain Marvel, for instance), there is no justice in the world!