Mockingjay uprising storms to box office number one
Bakang Israel | Friday December 5, 2014 17:23
The latest film Mockingjay, is an American science fiction adventure based on a novel of the same title name, and is the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins. This film is Part 1 as the creators have split Suzanne Collins’ final book into two movies, with the next set for release in 2015. As is the norm with sequel movies we have seen in other film franchises like Twilight, Fast and Furious, Lord of The Rings and Batman amongst others, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay cast and crew have also reprised their roles. Academy and Oscar winning Jennifer Lawrence still plays (Katniss Everdeen/Mockingjay) from the previous two Hunger Games editions, thrilling viewers with her archery skills, whilst Canadian Golden Globe winning actor Donald Sutherland maintains his role as (President Snow) of Panam which is the Capitol. He is a dictator villain who terrorises people.
Julianne Moore is the main notable new character in the Hunger Games and she plays (President Alma) of District 13, who leads the rebellion choosing the Mockingjay. The role fits her perfectly well especially as she is renowned for portraying strong willed, female characters.
This epic film was directed by one of Hollywood’s top directors Francis Lawrence. He also directed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, I am Legend and Constantine starring Jennifer Lawrence, Will Smith and Keanu Reeves amongst other stars. The movie’s storyline and screenplay revolve around Katniss Everdeen after having twice survived the Hunger Games, she now finds herself in District 13.
Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss is then chosen as the Mockingjay to steer people to liberty, she reluctantly becomes the symbol of a mass rebellion against the Capitol (President Snow) and fights to save Peeta. The nation is impressed by her courage. MockingJay has without a doubt a nice storyline, which propels one to watch it has exciting themes of liberty, class division and corruption, which put the characters in conflict, creating an intriguing atmosphere.
The movie kicks off with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) restricted deep within District 13 compound, before President Coin later shows her the havoc done by the Capitol leader Snow. Most notably the hard-core moment that moved big screen lovers was the point when Katniss wrong footedly stepped and crushed a skull within the rubble of District 12 in a trail of destruction left by Snow and his Capitol forces.
Moving forward, still on that note the film also gives one something to think about because during all this abuse of power by President Snow killing people, the Mockingjay film is actually a reminiscent of real life reigns of terror by former dictators such as Sadam Hussein who resorted to the use of military force to suppress several movements seeking independence. In this film, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) orders his forces to bomb a hospital in District 8 as a way of responding to the brutal force. The movie is also engaging in the sense that it connects with emotions as during all this sad moments the director fused a sad hymn to suite the moment, creating a sentimental atmosphere.
It is also important to note that there were no intense battle scenes in the movie. The standout characters are the two leaders of the factions. Donald Sutherland as (President Snow) was more convincing as a villain, with his ruthless intolerant behaviour, whilst compatriot Julianne Moore (President Alma) brought her vibrancy to the screen, which makes for an interesting clash, and drama filled confrontations.
Mockingjay Part 1 is quite a long movie. Although its about 2 hours 3 minutes long, it only peaks off at the hour mark. This means that the protagonist, or main character, Kardnis Everdeen, doesn’t feature much as she wasn’t within the thick of action.
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal (Atalanta in Hercules) stole the show with her archery shooting and exhilarating fighting skills as compared to Jennifer Lawrence’s rather mellow performance in the movie. Credit should be given to the cinematography and wardrobe teams who outdid themselves. There is a scene where they describe Kardnis Everdeen (Mockingjay) as the best-dressed rebel in history.
The special effects are also captivating, and it’s interesting to watch the hardcore Sci-Fi moment when the District 13 aircraft switched to night vision mode during the covert mission to rescue Peeta. The gadgets were also very cool; Kardnis’s bow and explosive arrows and the futuristic guns that were used by Snow’s forces were out of this world!
This movie seems like a curtain raiser to the 2015 Hunger Games: MockingJay Part 2 that looks set to be action packed with Kardnis taking the fight back to President Snow. The previous edition The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, remains the best of the film series. It scooped 24 awards from 52 nominations. This remains a huge feat to be achieved by MockingJay Part 1, however it is not too far off the pedal, as it amassed a whooping US$121 million on premiere day sales and weekend sales of US$154 million which is an inch less than that of the 2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire that raked in US$123 and US$158 million premiere day and weekend gross respectively.
Mockingjay Part 1 has stormed its way to the top of the box office chart, bulldozing its way past Big Hero 6, Intersteller and Dumb and Dumber as movies that complete the top 4 movies on circuit this far. The movie is on its first release week worldwide. However, it deserves a 7/10 score because it is incoherent. It seems like the bulk of the story was reserved for MockingJay Part 2.
Movie title: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -part 1 Genre: Adventure/Sci_Fi Age Restriction: 13 Release Date: 20th November 2014 Director: Francis Lawrence Main Cast: Jennifer Lawrence as (Katniss Everdeen), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta), Liam Hemsworth (Gale), Donald Sutherland (President Snow) and Julianne Moore (President Alma)