The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Grading & Discussion

I found part I to rather boring, it was hard to care about the characters forthe most part. And Peeta's brainwashing was kind of odd considering that he warned them about impending attack and clearly eh didn't appear to agree with his statements. Still though the movie has a great cast and I'm looking forward to seeing how the story ends.

 

That was the only real big thing to throw me off. I got the impression there was a day or two between him warning them and them rescueing him. For his programming to become so absolute withing a day or two.... But it could either have been a ploy by Snow (the warning Peeta gave) or just some very agressive programming. Or perhaps it was more then two days in between.


Other than that, I really enjoyed. Solid movie.
Was anyone else as disgusted as I was by the use of Katniss as propo? It made 13 look almost as controlling and subversive as the Capitol.

 

I thought that Peeta was perfectly normal until he laid eyes on Katniss and then the programming kicks in?

 

I've not read the books so I didin't know about Peeta ahead of time, but Gale's behavior kind of set me off that there was something wrong with Peeta. And it made me wonder about Anna and Johanna as well.

 

You're in luck, it's on the score album

 

Ah, I didn't realize there was a separate score. It didn't pop up on my search on iTunes (granted it was on my phone and I generally avoid iTunes), nor did I see it mention in the Wikipedia film article. I see it now. Thanks.

 

I gave this movie a C. What an utter disappointment. They could have condensed the entire film into 10 minutes extra in the final one. The whole buildup to the war with the Capitol was drawn out and at some points outright boring.

It deserves IMO only a C and not a lower grade because of the always outstanding performances by Harrleson and Sutherland - otherwise I wish I could have my 2 hours back.

 

I have not read the books but I've seen the first two films. I thought The Hunger Games and Catching Fire were both strong genre films that were exciting and heartfelt. Mockingjay: Part 1, however, felt really disappointing.

Maybe because I'm not an ardent follower of the source material I'm not easily swayed by the franchise's least satisfying installment, but I was honestly bored throughout most of the movie. It honestly felt like a two hour teaser for Part 2. I haven't read the book(s), but I've heard enough that seems to suggest there just wasn't enough to justify splitting up the novel into two films. This isn't Lord of the Rings and Francis Lawrence (although talented) is no Peter Jackson.

I was also surprised at how little action there is in the film. I believe there's only one sequence of significance in terms of action and that's it. The movie felt relatively quaint, especially compared to the previous two. It honestly just felt like a back-and-forth between Katniss sending messages and then Peeta sending messages, which got a little boring after a while. I think someone brought this up as well, but the finale basically sees Katniss sitting out the finale as she watches the events unfold in a room. The sequence is well done, but it felt weird for the main character to simply be watching and observing as the most exciting part of the film is happening.

So, I dunno. I'll watch Part 2 but I think this was far less successful than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in terms of splitting up the movies. At least with Harry Potter the first installment was actually good, so it made it feel less like a money grab. Mockingjay: Part 1 just felt very meandering and pointless and got me a little annoyed at the end.

One quick note: Since I feel like I am being really harsh on the film, I will quickly list off some things that I liked.

1. The cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and of course Jennifer Lawrence. All brilliant. It was bittersweet to see Hoffman again.

2. It's a very well made film with some gorgeous cinematography, set design, costuming and music.

3. Jennifer Lawrence has a surprisingly good singing voice.

 

Auto-Tune is an amazing device. From what I understand it can make anyone's voice sound fairly good.

 

I was pretty bored with it. But I don't think I'm the target audience for these films. My wife enjoyed it though, so I imagine I'll be there for the second part whenever it releases.

 

While I agree with complaints about the movie, I don't get people who complain there isn't enough action in this one. The first two movies are SO SLOW. Nobody does any fighting until over an hour into the movie! At least this one had a war going on throughout the whole story.

 

It's supposed to make you uncomfortable. You're presented with magical technology beyond anything seen today. You're then told that only the people in the Capital have access to that technology and that (with the exception of the military in District 13) the districts have to live in squalor.

It's also supposed to make you think: what could have led to such society? Also, is their society really so different from our own? Rich western countries have plenty of fancy technology, and those countries benefit greatly the resources mined in areas with few modern comforts. One could argue that the Capital is really just a caricature of a western nation and that the districts are just third-world countries controlled by powers far away. The situations aren't completely the same, but there's enough similarity that one could wonder if a future like the Hunger Games could exist.

 

And ???

ETA: http://www.singtrix.com/

 

@Snaploud: Yeah, I get all that; it just gets taken a bit far sometimes. At least we were spared the dogs with human faces or whatever.

 

That's actually part of the reason how Suzanne Collins got the idea to write Hunger Games. Reportedly she was channel surfing one night and saw a reality game show and then reports on the Iraq War that sparked the idea to write the story.

By extension the world of Panem is our world taken to the extreme. If you watch the citizens of Capitol you can see caricatures of our own western lifestyles where empty pursuits like the idolization of trash stars like the Kardashians and Paris Hilton can be inescapable where every minute detail of their lives is apparently newsworthy whereas in other corners of the world people are fighting to stay alive or work in dangerous areas to earn pennies ad provide the western world with vital ressources.

It is a social commentary of sorts but i guess most of the target audience will not notice it as such but "just" a dystopian version where Jennifer Lawrence runs around and shoots stuff while partaking in a love triangle.

Well.. i have just seen Mockingjay Part 1

Solid film but then again not a vehicle for Lawrence to win another Oscar. 2 hours flew by and i didn't get the feeling that the movie was stretched out because things were always happening. The beginning seemed a little jarring but then improved.

I especially liked the scene of her and Gale where he shot her down hard because she only felt in love with him when he was in pain. While comforting a close friend in pain is commendable and expected she kind of jerked him around because he had true feelings for her which she never truly reciprocated.
That always bothered me greatly because it made her an ass to me and this is why this scene stood out to me.

The movie may never be a SF classic but it's solid entertainment.

 

Saw it early this evening. Not too bad, certainly slow as it's mostly build-up but I don't quite agree that the events in this movie and the events in the next one could have been compressed into one. Seems like quite a bit happens here, especially in showing Catniss rising to her role as the rebellion's propaganda centerpiece. Explosive tipped arrow? I'll buy it. Catniss being able to aim a regular arrow at a flying jet and strike it hundreds of feet away? Not so much.

And was this rebellion really at all surprised that the capital would bomb the refugee hospital once they see that Catniss had been there? If that "was their plan all along" to get Catniss to take-on her leadership role that doesn't exactly make them that much better than President Snow, does it?

J-Law does a good job in her role and, man, did love Woody Harrellson's all-too sparse role in this one.

And did this movie borrow the MCU Quinjets?

All and all I liked the movie okay and look to the next one. Though I will say it took me a while to re-familiarize myself with what was going on, it's been too long since I've seen the second movie.

And while J-Law and "dude who plays Peeta" look more-or-less the same as they did in the previous movies it seemed like the guy who plays Gail has aged/changed a lot in the filming time between movies!

Oh, and, really? The Capital is looking for J-Law since she's the face of the rebellion, they bomb her district, but they don't keep a watch-out on her old-home in case she should return to it?

 

Man, I adore this woman.