Mockingjay Part One Review

OH MY GOD IT WAS SO GOOD

Not going to lie we were tempted just to put that and be done with the post.. We loved this film. Really loved it. A lot. We came out the cinema and basically just flapped and said omg for a good hour. We've tried to make this review as spoiler free as possible!

Fellow lovers of the books would probably have felt the same way as we did, it stuck so closely to the novel and some of the dialogue was word for word to the book. We feel that if you hadn't read the book it would have been a bit slow as there is a lot of detail that went into the film. However, the pacing is deliberate; a very gradual build up to the next film where everything will kick off. The second part of the book was incredibly action packed so we're so excited to see that come to life on screen. We liked that from the film we see a perspective that isn't just Katniss', as fantastic a narrator as she is, it's interesting to see those few scenes that don't involve her.  One thing we were immensely happy with was the portrayal of Finnick. The development of his character transferred SO well from the book to screen, we're so happy they kept his key scenes in as it's so important to the story and we just love his character. His backstory really emphasises the dark nature of these novels, and these films are getting progressively darker, so it was always a nice reprieve to see Effie and Haymitch on screen and to be provided with some much needed comic relief! There's no other way to describe the films, they are war films. They are dark and brutal in some aspects which is brought to screen so well.

Jennifer Lawrence absolutely slays in this film. I mean really, really well acted and she even briefly shows off her singing skills. We also loved Phillip Seymour Hoffman, his character's quietly manipulative behaviour was portrayed perfectly, coming across as though he believed his actions were for the greater good . It was convincing and real. Julianne Moore was good as President Coin, leader of District 13, however she did make us like the character more than we did in the book, perhaps it's because we just love Julianne. It may all change in the next film! And finally, although Josh Hutchinson doesn't have a huge amount of screentime in this film, what we saw was incredible. His performance and the costuming, hair and makeup were brilliant. The visual portrayal of his deterioration both mentally and physically was harrowing to watch. 

We called where it was going to cut off ready for the next film, it was a good place to stop.
(Did anyone else have that moment where the screen went black and you thought it was the end???) Some aspects of the film weren't how we pictured them, such as district 12 which we'd both imagined different than what we saw, but there was nothing major we could find fault in. We also imagine Panem to be in a straight line with one district after another and the Capital at the end, clearly not the case!

These novels are complicated and dark and contain scary parallels to the society we live in. We're so happy they're being brought to screen so well and we're so excited for the next film! (and a little annoyed we have to wait so long!)

Have you seen Mockingjay: Part 1 yet? If you have, let us know what you thought of it!
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