10 Things To Expect From The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

4. To Be Depressed

This can't be sugar-coated. Pretty much everybody who has read Mockingjay has already said it. Whether they loved or hated the book, the over-arching feel of Mockingjay is that of misery. For a series of books that is essentially about ritualised child-murder this seems fairly obvious, but Mockingjay's brutal depiction of war and rebellion can be even more difficult to digest. Katniss acting as the Mockingjay for the rebellion against the evil Capitol sounds pretty glamourous, but (probably quite rightly) we are quickly disillusioned by how painful and drawn-out a rebellion can be. Author Collins displays George R. R. Martin levels of consideration to much-loved characters, to the point where some articles have suggested the film should write out certain events (warning: MAJOR MAJOR spoilers). Whilst any depiction of war where people die is going to be depressing, a large amount of Mockingjay centres around hopelessness. What drove the last two books was a dangerous sense of hope pulled together by community, be it at The Hob in District 12, or the victors in the Quarter Quell joining hands after their interviews. Mockingjay largely obliterates this sense of togetherness (all the mass-murder doesn't help), but director Francis Lawrence has stated that they are attempted to inject a sense of hope into the next two films. He's going to have a job on his hands, but then where would even we be without hope?