Let’s see if I still have it in me to review films. Lol. It’s been a while since I’ve written anything close to a review for a movie that I watched. I mean – you could definitely check my previous posts and what? The last review I did was… 5 or 6 years ago? Maybe even more? LOL.
Anyway – I’ve recently watch this at home (I know, I know. I couldn’t watch this in the big screen – because, you know – well, kids. And life. And adulting. So sue me.) late at night when everybody was already sound asleep and in bed. Which was a good thing since I was saying things (mainly cussing *blushes*) while watching this which shouldn’t be heard by little ears.
So anyway (again) – I’ve been a fan of this book series ever since. When it became a movie, I became a fan of it even more. Of course, I didn’t raise my expectations for the movies given that I was already disappointed time and again with the way books are turned into movies – how the writers or producers and even directors of these books-turned-movie films have to cut certain aspects of the book or change a lot in them to fit the story plot that they did for the film.
I was surprised however with how Mockingjay turned out. Sure, they cut a lot of stuffs that weren’t in the books but it was all right. The execution of the story line fit perfectly with how they told the story from the first movie all the way to the end.
And of course – Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen was GOLD.
Casting for this series was always LOVE for me. At first I had my reservations when the first THG movie came out but as it progressed – I was pleasantly surprised with how the acting of these actors as their characters pushed through. They were all golden. They were able to manifest exactly what their characters called for.
Donald Sutherland as President Snow always gave me the chills as well. He was magnificent and very believable. It was sad though that Phillip Seymour Hoffman had to say goodbye to this world without seeing how he was golden in this film as Plutarch Heavensbee. I was honestly surprised with how he portrayed Plutarch because he wasn’t exactly how Plutarch was portrayed in the book. Nonetheless, he actually played him better. I loved it.
The rest of the cast was also golden. I couldn’t ask for a better roster of actors and actresses for this film series.
Technical wise – I have nothing against how the photography and editing went for this film. The grittiness of the Districts as well as the magnificence (in the beginning and towards the end still, in all honesty despite the ruins and such) of The Capitol was well lit and captured on camera. You can feel the unnecessary opulence of The Capitol (especially at President Snow’s mansion) through the way the production design staged everything. As well as the hardships of the Districts with their ruins and war-ridden population.
I give it a 4 and a half out of 5 stars. I may be bias – so sue me. But it was a great film from start to finish. I highly recommend it even without reading the books. That’s how well they told the story in this series.
Ruth Medina-Ilasco 