REVIEW: "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" by Jason Thomas
If you have seen the previous HUNGER GAMES movies (which would be necessary prior to seeing the final movie in the series) you pretty much know what to expect as far as characters and storyline. So all that remains is the question of how it compares to the rest of the series, and how well it concludes the story. Although I felt MOCKINGJAY PART 1 wasn't quite as good as the rest of the series, I can see that, had they crammed 1 and 2 together, it would have been a long movie, or a lot would have had to be trimmed.
I've been a fan of Jennifer Lawrence since I saw her in HUNGER GAMES, both on and off camera. While I haven't read the books at all, I couldn't imagine anyone else playing Katniss Everdeen. As expected, she carries the film with ease and delivers a very powerful entertaining performance. Lawrence has a genuine sincerity to her acting that makes her a pleasure to watch on screen.
For some reason I've always had trouble accepting Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark. Maybe I just can't shake seeing him as a child actor in movies like ZATHURA, BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA or JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. On the other side of the Katniss love triangle is Gale Hawthorn, played convincingly by Liam Hemsworth. Of course one of the big questions is, "Who will Katniss choose?" I won't spoil but I will admit my prediction was way off.
Considering Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away in February of 2014, he did have ample screen time throughout the film, except for one scene at the very end where a note from his character, Plutarch, was read to Katniss by Haymitch (played by Woody Harrelson). The reason for the note was easily explained and plausible to the story so it wasn't a departure for me. Hoffman's moments on screen were a delight and his presence in Hollywood will be missed. Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks and all other supporting actors were all strong and believable.
The story of the first two HUNGER GAMES films focused more on Katniss and Peeta in the games and was quite similar to each other, with the backstory of the rebellion uprising slowly gaining traction and growing. The third film in the story (MOCKINGJAY PART 1) becomes more about the revolution and the propaganda war between the Capital (lead by Donald Sutherland as President Snow) and the rebellion (lead by Julianne Moore as Alma Coin). Each side uses their pawns to gain media approval; President Snow uses a brainwashed Peeta, and Alma Coin uses Katniss as the Mockingjay. By the end of PART 1 Peeta is rescued, but still brainwashed into supporting the Capital and hating Katniss. PART 2 picks up immediately where PART 1 ended off. Katniss is determined to end the war, and President Snow and sets out to kill him.
The story develops from there with some battles and Hunger Games type of scenarios along the way. It was certainly more action oriented than PART 1 and moved at a reasonable pace, although the quest towards Snow's mansion seemed to take more time than the events that unfold later on. It's difficult to elaborate without spoiling, but I did feel the ending could have been longer as that part felt a bit rushed. At a run time of 2hrs, 17 minutes it seemed to be over too quickly. We certainly didn't need the hour-long ending that the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy had, but I would have enjoyed a bit more time spent on the conclusion.
I was surprised at the way the story unfolded towards the end, as it certainly didn't end with a large hero battle, which seems to be the Hollywood norm for movies of this type. Because of that I felt it was quite jarring and confusing, but not necessarily in a bad way. It certainly didn't end the way I was expecting, but if it did, why would I need to see the same formula? I sense that the book dealt with this part in far more depth, and like I said previously, the film could have gone on longer, but it did lead to some discussion with my friends afterwards. I am curious to see if the Blu-ray release will have a longer cut.
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 is a strong final episode to the series and does tie things up neatly, but perhaps a bit too quickly. If you have seen and enjoyed the previous films, you should enjoy the conclusion as well.
I give it a 7 out of 10.
STARRING:
Jennifer Lawrence
Josh Hutcherson
Liam Hemsworth
Woody Harrelson
Elizabeth Banks
Julianne Moore
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Jeffrey Wright
Sam Claflin
Jena Malone
Stanley Tucci
Donald Sutherland
DIRECTED BY:
Francis Lawrence
RELEASE DATE:
November 20, 2015
STUDIO:
Loinsgate
RATED PG-13