Lately, movies adapted from books have gotten into the habit of breaking in half. The Deathly Hallows, Breaking Dawn, and now Mockingjay are separated into part 1 and part 2. As with the former two, Mockingjay is smart in doing so, as the point where the movie ends is suspenseful and fascinating.
After the conclusion of Catching Fire, our hero Katniss Everdeen finds herself in the mysterious District 13, a seemingly mythical people given that she’s lived her whole life believing they’d been wiped out. They are a nation of survivors, dwelling underground, in constant fear of the Capitol.
District 13 is led by President Coin, who intends to use Katniss in a series of propaganda films to stir up the districts into rebellion against the Capitol and President Snow. As such, this third film deviates from the first two in that there is less actual “Hunger Games” fighting, and more politics and military.
The action is not diminished, however, as Katniss travels to various districts to inspire the people and create these films. The underlying theme of revolution, the life blood of this series, runs strong as the emotionally reserved Katniss lashes out at the Capitol through the camera.
A particularly powerful instance of this is when Katniss is singing a song called “The Hanging Tree.” This is filmed and shown to the increasingly rebellious districts, and becomes a rallying cry for them. As she sings, the scene transitions to a group of citizens all singing this song in unison as they fight back against the capitol, attacking a hydroelectric dam and cutting the capitol’s power supply.
Another high point of the movie is the capitol’s own version of the propaganda films, involving Peeta, who did not escape with Katniss at the end of the previous movie. In each of his appearances, he looks a little different, growing thinner and weaker-looking in such a way that we share in Katniss’s pain seeing him waste away. The level of connection that we have with her is remarkable, perhaps even more so than the version of her in the books.
The entire film will leave you on edge, whether from the muted color scheme of district thirteen, the lack of knowledge of what is going on with important characters trapped in the capitol, or the overpowering creepy feeling we get from the people of thirteen, and their chants of adulation following each of President Coin’s speeches.
Mockingjay Part 2 is set to be released Nov 20, 2015. Until then, may the odds be ever in your favor.