Maggie Collins 

Arts and Entertainment Editor 

Photo credit: Amazon.com 

The Hunger Games series dominated the movie industry as I was growing up, but I never had the desire to watch the movies and join in the fandom. I saw bits and pieces of the movies on TV, but I never watched one all the way through in one sitting. My refusal to watch them possibly came from a feeling of not wanting to be as obsessed with the series as the people around me.  

However, the series’ newly released prequel caught my attention. While it has been in theaters for almost three months, I finally decided to watch it. I found that there were, surprisingly, still a lot of people going to see this movie. Even the 9 p.m. showing on a Sunday, which would end at midnight, was full. 

Luckily, I went with someone who had watched the previous movies. They explained the small but significant details that only someone who had watched the entire series would know or understand. While it took me a while to piece together everything happening and who the characters were, I quickly found myself intrigued to see what would happen next. I was at the edge of my seat, saying, “No, don’t do that!” and, “Oh my gosh!” to the screen. 

The performances, costumes, production design, and action of the movie were remarkable. As someone who has only seen the movies in parts, I cannot fully appreciate the experience of coming back into this universe after eight years. However, I do still value the film’s quality, and now I want to watch the other films in full. There’s nothing better than a good dystopian action film with a little bit of romance.  

While I enjoyed the whole movie and didn’t notice the almost three hours passing, I was a bit confused about the ending. I wasn’t sure what was taking place from the moment Lucy and Coriolanus sneaked out of District 12 to the cabin in the woods. I was concerned that my confusion was due to not watching the previous movies, but it seems that I am not the only one unsure of what was happening.  

Lucy starts to become apprehensive about how much she can trust Coriolanus during their walk to the cabin after he confesses to killing three people, not just the two she knew about. The movie was a bit rushed from this scene on, not leaving time to fully grasp the emotions and actions.  

As the familiar saying goes, it takes a long time to gain trust but a short time to lose it. Lucy’s quickly rising distrust makes her leave the cabin. Coriolanus begins to go look for her in the woods, possibly fearing that she would tell on him. He eventually finds his mother’s scarf, which he had given to Lucy, on the ground. A snake underneath it bites him. We faintly see Lucy running in the woods, but we never fully understand what happened to her.  

Some parts of the movie led me to ask more questions about how they connect to the previous parts of the series. The biggest I had was about the connection between Lucy and Katniss. They both come from District 12, are the only female victors from that districtm, and take control of their respective Reapings. Katniss volunteers as tribute, and Lucy sings her song and puts a snake down the mayor’s dress, ending with a sarcastic bow like Katniss’s.  

What caught my attention most was when Lucy and Coriolanus were back in District 12 and a child picked a plant for Lucy, calling it a “Katniss” plant. This small but obvious touch made me think that there is some connection between Lucy and Katniss beyond their looks and actions. I wonder if we will ever find out the answer. 

Fans have certain expectations for a franchise that can sometimes be hard to meet. This truly memorable film meets at least some of those expectations, and it was overall a great movie that I feel confident recommending. With that, I’m off to finally watch the series that I’ve been putting off for 12 years.