FRESH FROM THE THEATRE: Mockingjay (Part 2)

We have finally arrived to the end of this magnificent saga. I got the chance to see it in the theatre on the night before the premiere. So let us get down to it:

(Spoiler free review! Unless you didn't read the books, in that case, spoilers ahead!)

Mockingjay Part 2

Katniss finally got Peeta back, but their troubles didn't end there. District 13 is ready to attack, and they want to keep Katniss safe, but she doesn't care. She heads out into the capital to try and get to Snow, but she is intercepted and is then given a whole team as assistance. Coin makes sure cameras follow her every move. Katniss loses parts of her team on the way, although she does get close enough, it is at a greater cost. Once the Capitol has been stopped Katniss asks to execute President Snow herself, only at the last moment she realizes that a greater evil is at hand, and it is not Snow, but Coin. Katniss kills her and afterwards heads back home, where she starts a life with Peeta.

I will never get out that creepy smile of President Snow's from my head. Nor how President Coin showed her true colors slowly, but very effectively. This is a story about war, and war is not pretty. No, war is very brutal and very sad. I was never angry at this story for the amount of people it killed, but here I just saw the pain in Katniss' eyes and it made it all too real. It is incredible that a fantasy dictatorship can hit you so hard. I, honestly, sat there with my mouth open, I was in utter shock at the horror of it. Gale's behavior? Cressida's bravery? Peeta's pain? And that sense of justice that drove Katniss? She was so afraid, so terrified, and yet she endured in the face of it all, she even lied, the one thing she hated. I think that in that moment she understood that for some this is really just a show, no matter how real it is. And as long as she can stay in character, she'll endure. And she did.

I read the books. I love the books. And no matter what happens, these movies keep reading my thoughts: This was in my head. My favorite book came to life in this movie and it is the most wonderful feeling! The ending... especially the ending. I just love that this crew opens the book when they need guidance and you can see how all movies connect perfectly. I am so grateful for the work they did. You feel the pain, the love, the characters get from A to B and you get a proper finale. The finale of the book, nonetheless. In the end Katniss smiles, and it is a genuine and kind smile, brought about the thought that tomorrow will be better, and every day after that even more so.

See it? Yes. I think this is by far the best adaptation of books I have seen in my life. I am telling you, it was the same as it was in my head when I first read it. And I'm going to re-read it again very soon. I loved this story, and I loved these characters, and I was happy to see them happy, even if sad that I had to say goodbye.

Until the next item on my list!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Katniss Everdeen - Jennifer Lawrence

Gale Hawthorne - Liam Hemsworth

Peeta Mellark - Josh Hutcherson

Finnick Odair - Sam Claflin

Primrose Everdeen - Willow Shields

Effie Trinket - Elizabeth Banks

Haymitch Abernathy - Woody Harrelson

Caesar Flickerman - Stanley Tucci

Plutarch Heavesbee - Phyllip Seymour Hoffman

Beetee - Jeffrey Wright

and
President Coin - Julianne Moore

President Snow - Donald Sutherland