The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 Trailer+Review

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1

Starring:
Jennifer Lawrence- Katniss Everdeen
Josh Hutcherson- Peeta Mellark
Liam Hemsworth- Gale Hawthorne
Woody Harrelson- Haymitch Abernathy
Elizabeth Banks- Effie Trinket
Julianne Moore- President Alma Coin
Philip Seymour Hoffman- Plutarch Heavensbee
Jeffery Wright- Beetee Latier
Jena Malone- Johanna Mason
Sam Claflin- Finnick Odair
Natalie Dormer- Cressida
Stanley Tucci- Caesar Flickerman
Donald Sutherland- President Coriolanus Snow

So this is by far the most anticipated movie of the fall season in the country. I realize not everyone is a fan, but speaking for the general public, this is the movie on just about everyone's radar. The Hunger Games opened in March 2013, with $152 million, and made $408 million in the country, making it the 15th highest grossing movie of all time stateside. Worldwide though, it was a bit of a disappointment. Obviously the states were much more interested in Katniss than the world. That all changed last fall, when The Hunger Games: Catching Fire debuted to not much more, $158 million, but at the end of its run, made $864 million worldwide, $424 of which was made in the US and Canada, making it the 10th highest grossing film of all time in the country. This movie is only expected to go up, maybe even breaking the billion dollar club.

What do we see in the trailer? We see Katniss, after the previous Quarter Quell games, (SPOILER ALERT to anyone who hasn't seen Catching Fire) and she's learned by now, that her District 12 has been bombed, and Peeta is either been killed or captured by the Capitol. Plutarch and Haymitch are leading a rebellion among the tributes, and Katniss is the "mockingjay" or symbol of hope. For anyone new to the world of Panem, jabberjays were a genetically engineered bird released by the Capitol to spy on the Districts, and they could repeat any conversation. When people caught on, they tricked the birds into spreading lies, so the Capitol abandoned the birds to die in the wild. However, they bred with mockingbirds, and made the mockingjay, which was a slap in the face to the Capitol. Katniss acts as the mockingjay from District 13, where the rebellion is led by President Coin. They plan to use propaganda to take down the Capitol.

For readers of the book, there is no surprise to see Peeta. Peeta and Johanna, captured at the end of the last movie, are acting as the Capitol's robots, to be used just as Katniss is by District 13. The main difference of this installment is the subject. There are no Games. I was one who was a little disappointed with the first movie, but the second?  So much better than the first, and maybe even better than the book. But Mockingjay has no games, and is very political. As you can see, it's all out war. It's slow, and drags on. Many people who have read the book, as far as I know, were very unsatisfied with it. This is only Part 1, but so many people downright hate it, I'm not so sure how it or how the final installment in the franchise will fare.