The fourth and final installment of The Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2, came out on November 16th.**** WARNING**** There are some spoilers in this review!
In the movie, the citizens of Panem plan a revolt against President Snow and the Capitol. The face of it all is, of course, Katniss, the Mockingjay. With the motivation of killing Snow and overturning the Capitol, Katniss leads her team through many obstacles, some of which are fatal. Not only does she carry the burdens of her family, the war and her safety from Peeta, who has been tortured by the Capitol and brainwashed to hate hate her, but Katniss is also caught in a love triangle. She must choose between Gale, the determined, strong boy who protected her family while she was in the Games, or Peeta, the sensitive, caring boy who has been by her side through everything.
As an avid fan of The Hunger Games books and movies, I would give the movie a 6 out of 10. Although the special effects, acting and overall organization of the movie were well done, there were a couple of major aspects of the book that were missing from the movie.
One big thing that is missing from the movie is Gale’s overall character representation. In the book, Gale is represented much more sinisterly. He is constantly suggesting destructive things, like setting off bombs, in the fight against the Capitol. His motive for doing these things is most of the time to harm as many people as possible because of his extreme hatred towards the Capitol and his want for revenge against them for what they’ve done to his home and the people he loves. On the other hand, Katniss is more concerned about sparing as many lives as she can. This brings friction between them which eventually leads to the end of their relationship. In the movie, Gale still has these malevolent intentions, but they are less obvious.The end to his and Katniss’ relationship is abrupt and not very well explained. This may be a bit confusing to those who haven’t read the books to understand Gale’s intentions.
The second thing that I missed in the movie adaptation was one of my favorite characters in the book, Johanna Mason. Johanna is a tough, sarcastic and integral character in The Hunger Games. In Mockingjay, Johanna has just come back from torture in the Capitol. This only fuels her desire to bring down Snow and the Capitol even more. In the book, Johanna and Katniss train together to become soldiers in the revolution. However in the movie, Johanna is in very few scenes and does not train. I wish that she would’ve been included more in the movie for multiple reasons, the first of which being her experiences. Johanna experienced first hand the horrible things that the Capitol does, and to have her determination and desire for revenge more in the movie would’ve added to the intensity and given even more of a hatred feeling to the Capitol. Also, Johanna’s sarcasm was one of the few humorous parts of the The Hunger Games story. This is missing from Mockingjay and could’ve been added to lighten up the mood in some of the more depressing moments of the movie. And finally, I personally believe that Jenna Malone, the actress who portrays Johanna, is amazing and to leaver her out of much of the movie was a waste of talent.
Despite these things, there were many things that I liked. For example, I liked the scenery in the movie. The Capitol, District 13, and any other place shown in the movie looked modern and much like I had imagined it as I read the book. I also enjoyed Katniss’s character representation. Like always, Katniss is determined, strong willed and ready to stand up for what is right. Her constant motivation is to protect who and what she loves. I think that these qualities and many more make Katniss a great role model for girls everywhere.
Though there were a few plot holes and missing aspects from the book, I thought that Mockingjay was overall a well done movie. It was thrilling, surprising and intense, and I would highly suggest it to everyone. And lastly, may the odds be ever in your favor!
