Mocking Jay II… So I’ve purposefully not read a single review of this film. I read the books right after the first Hunger Games came out in theatre. In fact, my roommate at the time had told me about the books about a year before. I’d never heard of them. I’m sort of a book cover snob (trust me, I know how bad that is) and since it looked very political thriller-esk I never got around to reading them – quickly forgetting the premise she’d told me about. Fast forward a year and I’m sitting in the theatre absolutely appalled at what I’m watching. Children killing one another wasn’t my idea of a good time. In the small town I was living in, there was only one reputable theatre at the time – two screens. If you wanted to see a movie, you just went and picked one – not always with many options. About half way through the movie, it was ringing bells in my mind of something I’d heard before. I of course went home and looked it up after and found that it was based on the first of a three book series. Needless to say, I read them all in less then three days – borrowing from various friends to get the job done.

So tonight I sat and enjoyed the final installment of a four part movie saga I read more then four years ago. While I remembered almost every moment of the book, I was still hoping the movie would feel fresh. Boy did it ever! I was pleasantly surprised at the way it was filmed. I felt like the last book was a bit rushed but they were able to take the time to express it all visually in this two part movie.

After the movie was over, my theatre companions asked me: Did Peta and Katniss actually have children at the end of the book? I was able to explain that yes they did. In the books, Katniss was so hell bent against ever getting married or having a family because it would mean that she’d bring life into a world of starvation, slavery, death, and the chance at torture in the Hunger Games. But by the end of the book, she’d found peace, and sacrificed nearly everything for it. Children at the end of the book and movie meant that life in the districts was peaceful and she was able to flourish. Enough so that bringing life into the world wasn’t a bad idea.

I wondered how Philip Seymour Hoffman’s roll was going to play out in the film knowing that he’d passed away before the filming was finished. Successfully it would seem, it didn’t feel awkward at all. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson had outstanding performances. As I was walking out of the theatre these two Bro-Bro’s were walking behind me. “I don’t know why Katniss chose Peta over that hunky Gale.” “Seriously dude, Gale was way more buff then Peta.”

*Sigh* Clearly some people don’t understand.

The cinematography didn’t disappoint and in fact I (the girl who never gets jumpy) jumped when the mutts came out of the tunnels. I was on edge when the oil was rising. I got choked up when Finnick was getting married knowing it was only a matter of time before he was going to die. There are a lot of things that could be said about the these films, a lot of political statements. But at the end of the day, they are also simply good fiction. I feel like the film was able to do the book justice, it made me even want to re-read them all. Maybe this year I’ll do just that.