Mockingjay - Part One

[S]

So, we all know that Mockingjay Part One will be released very shortly indeed. What are your thoughts? What parts do you think they will deem unnecessary for the film? Where do you think the film will end? Exactly just how excited are you for it?

[Olivia]

I can't wait to see Mockingjay! I'm excited to see how District 13 is portrayed - I think we all have a slightly different vision of it, and it will definitely be interesting to see how it is displayed in the movie.

[S]

Yes, especially with all of it being underground. I happen to think that it will finish at the point where Katniss says, "Welcome to the Seventy-Sixth Annual Hunger Games". I'm also interested to find out what they will do concerning Plutarch Heavensbee, since Philip Seymour Hoffman died before filming ended.

[Daniel]

Now that the movie's come out, I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks of it, especially where the screenwriters chose to diverge from the book. What about Peta's method of return to D13 - better in the book or the movie?

[S]

I must say, I absolutely loved the film. In fact, I still have The Hanging Tree stuck in my head. And I thought the rescue of Peeta was great, especially Finnick's story. The only problem I have, and my friends concur, is that the screenwriters made President Coin too friendly towards Katniss.

[Alma]

I loved it too!!! It was awesome, but actually there were some things of the movie that were better than the book mainly because the movies are not from Katniss perspective. I enjoyed watching how the districts took action on the rebellion :3
Then... there were some details from the books that were missing and they were very important :C I wanted more Finnick!!! The cut out a lot of scenes of Finnick and they were crucial for the movie and to create a bond with the character. I don't think people who didn't read the book and saw the movie felt something for him when he talked about his life as a victor. When he talked about Snow's secrets could have been much better if they hadn't cut out his scenes.

[S]

I thought the scenes within the Districts were magnificent, and they really added to the (here I was going to say "undercurrent", but it's not exactly subtle) feel of rebellion. Finnick, oh Finnick. I love Finnick. He's my favourite character in the books, and I did comment several times throughout the film that his appearances were not quite enough to satisfy my need for some Finnick. And what about the delightful scene when he's just in underwear? I felt that the screenwriters didn't portray just how lost and unravelled he was with Annie in the Capitol. Anyway, rant over.

[Alma]

S wrote: "I thought the scenes within the Districts were magnificent, and they really added to the (here I was going to say "undercurrent", but it's not exactly subtle) feel of rebellion. Finnick, oh Finnick..."

He's one of my favorite characters too. I agree with you, it was great but it needed to do justice to Finnick. Also some Gale/Katniss moments (and two of them included the relationship between Finnick and Katniss). I am team Peeta by the way haha :P but I like Gale's character too.

[S]

What annoyed me about Gale, is that throughout the whole of the first book, I never even considered him as a love interest, and I was thoroughly startled in the second book when Katniss announced he had kissed her. To me, him being a love interest could have easily been cut out, without the plot losing anything.

[Alma]

S wrote: "What annoyed me about Gale, is that throughout the whole of the first book, I never even considered him as a love interest, and I was thoroughly startled in the second book when Katniss announced h..."

You have a point, but I think that was because, as Katniss mentioned, with the situation, they never really thought about a romance. They were important to each other, but it wasn't until they were apart and Gale saw her with Peeta that he decided to make a move.

I imagine him thinking 'I have competence now, I need to do something'haha. But now that I think about it, I don't know if he would have had the same reaction if the whole romance with Peeta didn't existed.

I know it sounds bad, because I am describing him as possessive, but I think is a common attitude in men. But the reson why I liked him is that he always did his best to protect Katniss family. He made a mistake at the end, but it wasn't his intention. I think it was just a way to show us that war always takes innocent people lives from both sides.

But... well everyone has different points of view, that's just my opinion :) and at the end both of us are Team Peeta !!! :3

[S]

Yeah, I'm not saying I don't respect Gale, because without him, his family (and Katniss' whilst she was in the Games) would most certainly have starved. However, I was annoyed in Mockingjay when Katniss kissed him, and he said something along the lines of, "I knew you would do that, because I'm in pain". That really lowered him in my opinion. If he wants her to kiss him, it should be because she loves him, not because she wants to make him feel better. That being said, I believe he legitimately didn't know what the bombs were really being used for. He wouldn't have wanted to hrám her in that manner, no matter what she thought of him. Gale wis a good Guy, just not right for Katniss, and deluded into thinking Coin is the epizóde of goodreads and friends.

[S]

That last bit is supposed to say, the epitome of goodness and fairness, but my autocorrect was acting up.

[[deleted user]]

I just saw Mockingjay not too long ago. I really liked it and it definitely sets you up for the final installment. I also liked how the dedicated the film to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

[Olivia]

I agree, I think it was nice that they dedicated it to Philip Seymour Hoffman. I also loved how Gale had quite a bit of screen time, especially compared to Peeta (yes, I'm team Gale, which definitely does not make this statement biased!).

I do feel like they stretched the plot a bit too thin in order to make two movies, rather than just one. I would have preferred to see a bit more action, which likely would have held my attention for a longer period of time.

[[deleted user]]

Hollywood seems to be doing that a lot lately with having the final movie in a series be two parts, its like they're thinking if we stretch the plot out we get more bang for our bucks

[Olivia]

Absolutely! I feel like it made sense for the final Harry Potter book, because that was significantly longer than Mockingjay. But Mockingjay was a bit of a stretch...