The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part 1: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived and is recovering from the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell deep inside the bunkered catacombs of District 13. Separated from some of her closest allies and fearing for their safety in the Capitol, Katniss finally agrees to be the Mockingjay, the symbolic leader of the rebellion. Still uncertain as to whom she can trust, Katniss must help District 13 rise from the shadows, all the while knowing that President Snow has focused his hatred into a personal vendetta against her—and her loved ones.
The last film ended with a pretty crazy cliffhanger and this one picks up right where the other one left off. The first two films concentrated more on action and this film is more about Katniss and Co. building up a battle strategy. It practically felt like I was watching an election campaign or something. Not that it was in any way a bad thing, it was just a different angle from what we’ve seen in the other films. It’s seems so far to be the darkest of the three and is very straightforward and honest in that. They are pulling out all the stops and setting up for the beginning of the end and the moment that Peeta is shown towards the end is probably one of the saddest and unfortunate things I’ve seen in a while because you know that there is some other forces at work. Lawrence’s performance was full of emotion, more so than in the other two. The moment when the camera pans up when she sets foot back in her District was powerful. I honestly am not a huge Lawrence fan BUT she gets better and better with each Hunger Games film. I was a bit bummed out that there wasn’t enough of Josh Hutcherson this time around but the moments and scenes that he was in were heavy and provided a lot of emotion that pushed the story along perfectly. Although I thought this wasn’t as great as the previous films, it definitely is a nice entry that shows the propaganda side and inner workings of a revolution. 8/10
Special Features:
The Mockingjay Lives: The Making of Mockingjay Part 1 – A really extensive 7 part documentary that shows all of the ins and outs of the making of this film. This is a must see.
Straight from the Heart: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman – A touching feature to the late actor.
Songs of Rebellion: Lorde on Creating the Soundtrack – A look at Lorde’s experience in making and setting the mood of the film through music.
Deleted Scenes – A decent amount of scenes here that are actually quite good but you can understand why they were cut from the film.
Lorde “Yellow Flicker Beat” Music Video
Audio Commentary with Director Francis Lawrence and Producer Nina Jacobson
