{ MOCKING JAY : PART ONE } MOVIE REVIEW

A r e  y o u ,  a r e  y o u 

C o m i n g  t o  t h e  t r e e

W h e r e  t h e y  s t r u n g  u p  a  m a n  t h e y  s a y  w h o  m u r d e r e d  t h r e e .

S t r a n g e  t h i n g s  d i d  h a p p e n  t h e r e

N o  s t r a n g e r  w o u l d  i t  b e 

I f   w e  m e t  a t  m i d n i g h t  i n  t h e  H a n g i n g  T r e e .

Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins

M y  R e v i e w  { s p o i l e r s }  :

If we burn, you burn with us! 

I have one word for this movie : wow. Just wow. I read the books back in my freshman year of high school when The Hunger Games first came out, so I knew what to expect in this movie. What I didn't expect was it to be so intense, so thrilling, so moving. I really expected the movie to be quite boring since they split Mockingjay into two parts, and the first part of the book is mainly made up of Katniss finding dark places to hide and contemplate life. But even just the mundane parts were exciting! 

I really was worried about how they were going to portray Peeta. But, again, it was just like the book described. I found myself completely at lost for words when the screens showed a sickly-looking boy with the bread. In fact, I don't think I'll be able to recover from that. 

One of the things in this series that I consistently do not like is that they don't really explain things very well in the sense that some parts of the movie you will never really understand unless you read the book, which means after the movie I always have to explain to my family why Katniss hates Buttercup, why the white rose amidst all the dead ones is such a big deal, and why Finnick is really the most heartbreaking character in the movie / book. But it really makes the readers of the book's experience that much more exciting since we happen to know exactly what Katniss is thinking at a particular moment.

Overall, Mockingjay : Part One was a smashing hit in my books. I think the most disappointing part is that I have to wait another year for the end of the series.

P a r e n t a l  G u i d e  : 

Sexual content : Reference to a supposed miscarriage.

Violence / Gore : Numerous occasions of scenes of wounded people. The bombing of an entire hospital with innocents in it. The skeletons of adults and children are shown two or three times. Peeta's scenes once he is rescued from the Capitol can be considered frightening at times. Numerous occasions of gun fire and people being shot. 

Profanity :  I only remember one use of the word sh**. I may be wrong, but if there were more, they were few an far between (which I love since I personally view swearing as unintelligent and undignified). 

Alcohol / Drugs / Smoking : One reference to a mans love for drink. Haymitch asks Katniss if she is on any pain medication (with the intentions to use it on himself).

Frightening / Intense Scenes : The movie as a whole is very intense and sprinkled with frightening scenes. I would only recommend children ages 13+ view this film as it might be too intense for anyone younger (and they might not be able to grasp some of the concepts).

O v e r a l l  :

5/5 stars

Now what do you do after viewing such a heart-wrenching film like this?