Warning: Spoilers for the Mockingjay book follow.
After the completely underwhelming Mockingjay Part 1, I was sort of over the whole Hunger Games franchise. I realize it was a placeholder movie, but the film was terribly slow paced. So last week’s flurry of new stills failed to spark my interest. Then this new trailer arrived, and it is awesome. We can pretend last year’s movie never happened, right? The only reminder that matters is seeing Effie Trinket without her makeup. Let’s watch this beautiful new offering and discuss.
Oh, it hurt to see this trailer begin with Finnick and Annie’s gorgeous wedding. The spectacle of happiness feels like a gut punch, but it’s also a necessary show of optimism before the real battles begin. The trailer shows us a good chunk of action without giving away the whole movie. The CGI of the black sludgy stuff doesn’t look too cheeseball. All of the emotion between Katniss and Prim, Peeta and Katniss, and Katniss and the world! There will be lots of audience tears.
Does this trailer make you feel excited? I feel bad for Liam Hemsworth because this will probably be his last huge movie. There isn’t enough Natalie Dormer to go around, ever. But Sam Claflin’s last line is a good one. Lots of promise here, Katniss fans. This should be sweet.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast news; movie stills courtesy of Lionsgate
Yes, this looks great – and all the real meat of the third book of the series is coming in this film.
Is that guy in the picture with J-Law cleaning her butt? A popular job, I would imagine…
Ha, I just noticed that! I bet it was very competitive to get that job.
I thought he was slipping a banana in her pocket, in case she gets hungry later 😉
I found the first one to be very meh and a shining example of how sometimes splitting a book in two movies can be a really bad idea.
Did I see Gwendoline Christie in there?
No, that’s Brienne of Tarth.
Yes, that is Gwendoline, joining Natalie in a GoT reunion…
Forgive me, I’d forgotten her real name
You mean Margaery, right? She’s still in jail, at least until Sunday evening. 😉
with very bad wig, I mean hair! Hair!
I Agree Lindy, It’s ridiculous for this particular part of the series to be broken up in two when it was the least good book and the thinnest, like they could have broken the first book into Two Parts, give backstory of the rebellion spend Time developing how ornate and different the Capitol and Its citizens were and so On
Looks good! Liam is in the new Independence Day movie and is co-starring in an upcoming Kate Winslet film, so I don’t think this will be his last decent film. He’s in no danger of becoming Kellan Lutz.
Curious: Why do people think this will be Hemsworth’s last big movie?
Well, they do call him Budget Hemsworth.
Because every movie he’s in bombs spectacularly.
The only hit movies Liam has been in are ensemble movies like THG and The Expendables. Personally I don’t think he can act at all…he’s definitely the weak link in every movie he’s in tbh.
Erm, did none of you see The Last Song?! It was a spectacularly moving work of art, and he should have won an Oscar for playing sweaty, simpering Nicholas Sparks boyfriend # 26. 😉
Shambles – Oh you’re bad *smirks*
He might not be the greatest actor of our generation, but he is so beautiful in person. I may have said this on CB before, but when he was filming the first hunger games in Michigan he came into the restaurant I used to work at. He was with Miley and two other people. When he walked across the restaurant to the bathroom every woman in the building was staring him down. He was devastatingly handsome
I really disliked the third book (don’t get me started on the “big twist” and the ending) so I can’t say that I’m excited for this movie. I know I’ll go and see it, because I saw the others, but…yeah. I have a feeling I’ll be more annoyed than anything else.
That said, maybe I’ll be wrong and it’ll be great. Who knows?
Eh. Mockingjay is the weakest book in the series. Same goes for the films I think.
I’ll see it, but I’m not excited like I was with the first two.
Liam is actually cast as the lead in those new Independence Day movies so Mockingjay won’t be his last blockbuster.
Looks fantastic!. I am really looking forward to this film. Kudos to everyone involved (especially Jennifer Lawrence) for doing such a great job.
I am very excited for this movie. I realize that the first mockingjay movie had to set all this up but it really did move too slowly and just when we were about to see some action, it ended.
I know a lot of people hated the ending of the third book but I didn’t mind it. I think some of the things that people hated were necessary for Katniss to come to some important realizations (I’m trying really hard not to give anything away for those who haven’t read the books). Mockingjay wasn’t my favorite book of the series but it was still a decent read and it tied things up.
This movie will be epic! JLaw is really stunning in the trailer
I really like Jennifer Lawrence’s acting, for real. But this Liam Hemsworth , he’s one of those celebrities I can’t stand for some reason.
The difference in acting talent between Lawrence and her male co-stars (Harrelson aside, obviously) has been a problem for the HG films from the beginning.
Really? I honestly thought J-Law was doing an impression of Kristen Stewart for a bet in the first movie. Her family, friends and entire society are supposedly staring death in the face and she just looks bored.
@KUFRT: Oh c’mon…no, not in a million years would I, or could I agree. Lawrence played KE as she was written-and does an amazing job.
Well, each to their own I suppose – although, kufrt, judging from the reviews and the box office, I suspect not many people agree with you! I thought Lawrence was magnificent in the first three films, and in particular in the first one.
In the books, it is explained Katniss learned to keep her face an ‘expressionless mask’ to deal with her life. I thought JL did a great job capturing that.
Now, if it was intentional is up for debate.
To me the biggest fail of these movies is how little Josh has been given as Peeta. Esp in the first movie where they butchered his character. Gale isn’t a big role until MJ and Liam is pretty weak regardless so that didn’t matter much to me.
Frankly I’m excited to see how Josh takes on Peeta in this movie because the 10 mins he’s in for part 1 was superb. I thought Jen phoned it in a little in part 1 but still amazing.
I think Josh has been concistently great as Peeta! Liam as Gale? Not so much (but I hate Gale in the books too so that might have something to do with my Hemsworth hatred.)
To each their own but to me Hutcherson is the worst in the films, he has no connection to Katniss and just stares with his mouth open. Also, in MJ1 his bobblehead was so terrible it has prevented me to watching the movie again. Being so much shorter than JLaw doesn’t help either. Hemsworth is not good but also not annoying like Hutcherson.
Josh is one of the worst in this franchise. Not once have I been convinced that Peeta and Katniss are in love or destined for each other. There is just no chemistry between the two and he’s the sorriest male lead/romantic lead right now. Heck Hulk and Black Widow had more than these two. Problem is there is no chemistry with Hemsworth either. I keep hoping she chooses neither of them. For once can we just have a female hero that’s not trying to decide who to sleep with in the end?
I actually thought part 1 was good. It showed some behind the scene propaganda side of politics and I liked it.
I liked it too. It was also necessary I think.
Exactly. That was the best part for me. They cut most of those unimportant scenes from the book – Katniss shouting Peeta every 5 seconds and behaving like Bella Swann and added/kept many great propaganda scenes. I was raised in the country recovering from the trauma of communism and it was all so familiar and so, so true.
My dad was a political prisoner in the 80’s for criticizing the system, refusing to paint our grass bright green when some Soviet dignitary was visiting out town. and pretend he is the happiest person ever when he, my mom and sister were basically starving because they had money but there was nothing but vinegar to buy in the stores. My town then made history by organizing the first ever Solidarity protest, which, followed by many others, led to the fall of communism – they did it by literally going outside, for a walk, when the tv was playing some propaganda materials everyone was supposed to watch. Hunger Games might be a complete fiction, but the last movie showed the mindset of totalitarian rulers in a really great way.
Sorry double post. I will use this space to say I salute your father’s bravery.
I liked part 1 too! Yes, it was the weakest one in the series but it was still better than all of the Twilight/Divergent/Maze Runner movies. The scene when they break th damm is gorgeous and so intense and Peeta’s comeback too.
I loved it too. It was slower and less action-packed than the first 2 but it was still entertaining, imo.
I also liked Part 1. I think a lot of the complaints about it miss a major point of the series – this is about people suffering from serious trauma. I thought slowing down a bit and looking at the psychological effects of what Katniss has been through/is going through was good.
@DS: Agreed.
I liked the first book but the second and third were so dull. I didn’t like the first film and never bothered with the sequels. The popularity of the films baffles me.
I remember being excited for the Harry Potter films like crazy, going to the midnight premieres for both movies and books. It was the highlight of my month, my summer or fall. The last time I went to the theater was to see mockinjay pt1 and well, either I outgrew my excitement about YA novels on film or nothing will ever compare to the brilliance of Harry Potter. I am thinking the second option, Always 😍
Nothing compares to HP. The magic that surrounded the books and the films could never be recreated. PotterHead for life. *fist bump*
HG is a decent series, but not even close to Harry Potter.
I actually really liked the first Mockingjay movie. I hated the book and it was by far the worst in the trilogy – so bad that I suspected Collins of asking Stephenie Meyer to finish it, but the movie saved it in my eyes. I had very low expectations and I was pleasantly surprised that they cut all the most cringe-worthy parts and added some better ones. It had a more of an indie feel than the blockbuster action movie one, but I like slow movies in general. I didn’t like the first two movies that much though, for the reverse reason – the books were way better than the movies. I have even lower expectations for Mockingjay 2 – they’d have to change all the important plot points and the corny ending to save it.
Agree. I didn’t like the book either, but thought film was great.
Give Mockingjay 1 a break. It’s hard to make a 2+ hour film based on only 50 pages of a book. Pure art.
Amazing!!!
“What do you do for a living?”
“I am a Butt-Brusher”
it looks great I’m pretty excited to see this.
I thought the last book was such a disapointment after the first amazing two but I’ll stil obviously see this, because Jennifer Lawrence;)
Am I the only one seeing how terrible her hair is? Is that a wig? It looks awful.
Yes it’s a wig. They shot Part 1 and 2 back to back so her real hair was a lot shorter. Unfortunately, it does look way more wiggy than part 1 for some reason.
The trailer looks terrific!. Yeah, I’m psyched. I assume that this trailer just let the audience in on the first half of the film so, no spoilers (yes I know pretty much everyone has read the books and knows what happens, but still…).
So, just bring on November 20th!.
I’m 40 years old, and I love the HG movies (haven’t read the books, though)! I’m really excited about this final installment. It looks pretty spectacular! And was that Gwendoline Christie I saw? Even more excited now!
I must be the only person who loved the ending of the series. True, the story was rushed and I had to re read some parts, but I was glad it didn’t end with cliches (I’m looking at you, Harry Potter).
I love it all~the books, the movies, the cast. I can’t WAIT!!! Liam is the weak link I think as far as casting goes, for me at least.