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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Elizabeth Banks, Mahershala Ali, Jena Malone, Paula Malcomson, Stan Tucci, Natalie Dormer, Evan Ross, Eugenie Bondurant, Omid Abtahi, Jeffery Wright, Sarita Chaudry, Patina Miller
Rating: C
When the first installment of the film franchise for The Hunger Games hit the big screen in 2012 movie audiences couldn’t get enough of this teenage adventure story. Action, suspense, comedy, villains and heroes all were ingredients that would set the stage for a saga that moviegoers would flock to see with the anticipation of a blockbuster climax. The story kicks off with teens forced into a wooded arena where they are pitted against each other in a televised combat to the death. Relationships unfold, conspiracies are discovered, and a young heroine rises not from her ability to win in combat but from her ability to defy a system of dictatorship and slavery. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 will bring us to the grand finale of young adults surviving impossible conditions forced on them by corrupt officials that have been using them as public relations pawns for their own political gain. Will the odds be in their favor to end this tale with a marvelous and smashing big bang?
The female gladiator at the center of this drama, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), is on a mission to assassinate the diabolical President Snow (Donald Sutherland). With the help of Squad 451, a group of her colleagues that include love struck Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and mentally ailing Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss sets out to enter into the capital and accomplish her mission. The empire that once terrorized its citizens is now falling and with weaknesses exposed the opportunity to finally overthrow a treacherous government cannot be missed.
The journey for the group of warriors is packed with all sorts of hair raising booby traps along the way, making for an edge of your seat race into the city. A midst all the mayhem, Katniss finds time to focus on which of her two suitors she will choose – will it be Peeta or Gale that will finally steal her heart? She is also faced with the suspicion that the new regime headed up by President Coin (Julianne Moore) may not be any better than the one currently in power.
The pacing of Mockingjay – Part 2 is surprisingly awful. Major scenes that could have left a powerful impact are rushed by so fast you barely catch what is happening. There are long drawn out moments making certain scenes extremely painful to watch. Just when you think the movie is about to wrap up you get hit with about five more shockingly dull sequences that possibly could put some fans into a sound sleep. Messy, bumpy, choppy, are factors that just wreck everything up for what should have been the icing on the cake for the finale of The Hunger Games series.
Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress that seems to have outgrown her character. She still pulls off a strong emotional performance, though the way her lines are written she does not come across as the young woman making quick decisions to get the job done, but rather one who can’t make up her mind and seems to be following everyone else around. She often seems like she is tuning out at pivotal moments in the film. The fierce leadership quality that Lawrence’s character had in the previous chapters seems to have gotten lost somewhere, which now leaves the ending to the saga feeling rather flat.
Missing from the screen are the great humorous performances from Stanley Tucci as the conceited television host and Elizabeth Banks as the lovable chaperon – they’re both there, briefly, just not as entertaining as we remember. The handsome Liam Hemsworth , flashing dead pan expressions, does nothing to add to the love triangle conflict. Even the presence of heavyweights like Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, and Woody Harrelson can’t save the dull feel of this final chapter. Kudos to the filmmakers do need to be given for putting together Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last performance, reminding us of the tragic loss the entertainment world suffered about two years ago.
What should have been a dynamic and powerful ending to an epic tale is instead just a drab, sluggish, tired feeling conclusion. Mockingjay – Part 2 just takes the fizzle out of all the sizzle and the odds are not in its favor to be a winning game at the box office.
