Tag: Mockingjay

I know I’ve been remiss in posting recently. More about that on Wednesday, I hope.

For now, it’s Media Monday and I’m here to talk about Mockingjay.

I saw the final movie in the Hunger Games series a couple of weeks ago.

I read the books and have talked about them before. They do not deserve the summary dismissal I’ve heard from some people. They are not about children killing children (although, yes, that is a part of the story). They are not violent and dark (although, yes, there is violence and the scenes in District 12 are depressing).

They are about what happens when someone takes complete control of a country and/or society and culture.

There’s a love triangle at the heart of the books and I really didn’t see how the author was going to resolve it in a satisfying manner. The problem with love triangles is that one of the two vying for the third, must be a stinker. The reader/viewer needs a clear good guy and bad guy so they know who to root for.

IMHO, Sweet Home Alabama, while a fun movie, was fundamentally flawed because both the guys were great (although one of them had a witchy mother). I didn’t know who was worthy of the heroine because neither really had a flaw.

Another Reese Witherspoon movie that I felt had the same problem was This Means War. Two buddies are competing for her. They’re also skilled in espionage and spying. And of course they’re both good looking and charming. In this case, though, I knew who to root for. One of them had an ex-wife and son, so the only way that movie could end happily was for the family to be reunited and for Reese’s character to end up with the other spy.

Back to Mockingjay: I don’t want to give away the ending just in case someone out there hasn’t yet read the books and/or seen the movies.

Suzanne Collins solved the problem brilliantly, I think. One character became even more of himself and in doing alienated himself from Katniss. She sawhim more clearly and realized who was her real love.

The bad guys are defeated, although not without a terrible cost, and life in District 12 is once again worth living.

I loved the books. The movies did them justice. Mockingjay is a satisfying conclusion to the series. Two thumbs up from me. 😉