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User Reviews for: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

dgw
6/10  8 years ago
> Mockingjay Part 2's biggest mistake is being completely faithful to the book, considering that it is the worst one of the trilogy. They had the chance to make the story better but chose to stick to what they had. Being the final chapter of the story, it has emotional bits, but miserably (and unfortunately) fails to sell them, rushing the scenes which we were supposed to remember the most.
— @aag's review (https://trakt.tv/comments/62697, and we need proper internal link markup on Trakt!)

Seriously. The big dramatic moments are unbelievably rushed—there's no time to dig into them. There's too much focus on bad CGI and not enough on characters. Basically every character is 2D at best, except maybe Katniss and Peeta. But that's also due to sticking true to the book. None of the characters in the books were particularly well fleshed out, either, as I recall (from reading them 3 ½ years ago).

I also found the story very predictable. Obviously there's some amount of subconscious influence from having read the books, but it's also just absolutely clear when the big surprises/twists are going to happen, and what they'll be. They end up not being surprising at all. (Not to belabor the point, but the book had this problem too.)

My other big issue—which applies to the whole series—is that we barely see anything that happens away from Katniss. I know it's quite common in YA novels to present a limited first-person perspective from the protagonist's point of view, but in a big political saga like this I feel like that severely limits the storytelling.
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Reply by aag
8 years ago
@dgw I completely agree about the characters being just as flat as they were written in the books. That was something that bothered me deeply while reading it — how we know nothing about those who aren't involved in the main romance bullsh*t. And, yes, the film mainly goes through the plot points of the book without adding any flavor to them. It felt like they were obligated to finish the saga, really. (Also, thanks for the spelling check, fixed it haha)
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Reply by dgw
8 years ago
@aag "romance bullsh*t" is right. YA novel or not, that was much too heavily emphasized. (Now that you fixed it I can edit the brackets out of my quote :D)
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Lainfan
CONTAINS SPOILERS8/10  8 years ago
May the spoiler be always in your favour (this review contains spoilers.)

A great ending has come to the legendary hunger games series. A most welcome ending because we now finally will discover how the creators handled the death of Prim and the bittersweet ending of the book. Those were the two parts of this film I was curious about the most. My judgement is a 50/50 split between praise and expected disappointment.

After 3 movies and covering 2,5 book we have arrived at the endgame. The rebellion is on the capitols doorstep, and the climax of the story has arrived. During this build up there was a decent lack of focus on Katniss her sister Prim (as I mentioned in an earlier hunger games review too.) The importance Prim has to Katniss is shown a few times, but she did not get the appropriate attention for the average watcher to accept and understand that. Therefore the 'big explosion' didn't hit me as hard as it should have (and it didn't look like it hit many of the rest of the audience in the cinema.) But this was an expected point of criticism, and the actual execution of the big scene was done fairly well and a visual treat.
They did left the ending completely intact, with the harsh reality of a post traumatic stress syndrome after a war and poking around in someone's brain. It is an emotionally, nerve-racking but realistic ending, and I loved the books for it. I am thankful the writers had the gut to not change it.

Performance

Performances are once again fabulous. Effie (Elizabeth Banks) her role was mostly played out, so we sadly didn't get to see much of her. Neither did we of Haymitch (Woody Harrelson.) But it wouldn't be the Hunger Games without some of the chart emotional outburst by Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence.) She proves to the world that her fellow generation actresses are miles away from her level of performance. I even dare to say she is the best we've got currently have in all of Hollywood.
Donald Sutherland finally steps it up as president Snow and leaves the franchise with a great final act, giving the evil sceptre to the ever anticipating Coin (Julianne Moore) whome I have yet to see doing a weak performance. Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) are just as great as they always were, even though we do not see enough of Gale to give his character a proper development. They just managed to do enough. Jena Malone as Johanna Mason was a delight, even though fairly irrelevant. The acts of Natalie Dromer as Cressida and the rest of the camera crew & squat underwent the same faith: Fairly irrelevant, but decent nonetheless. Most of the soldiers deaths were less shocking due to their lack of screen time, but there simply isn't enough time to set there character up in this stage of the story, so it couldn't be handled any other way.

Story

The story couldn't have been more relevant to current times. With a massive overlap with the refugees in Europe, the war in Syria and the political pre-election games in the USA, the accidental timing of the movie is perfect. Sometimes it felt like I was watching a speech they took right out of Donald Trump his program, used images from actual war zones and this made it frighteningly applicable to reality for me. The whole story is a fair warning to the current world situation, and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.
Having said that, the script did drop some stitches. Especially with the pacing. The middle part of the movie is going from one event to another lacking some proper motivation besides getting to the end of the movie. It did deepen the drama and gave room for great action scenes, but they had to sacrifice the strategic coherence we saw in the last film. It results in an ending that became fairly predictable, and a feeling that some (major) events were rushed (a weird feeling when you have over 9 hours of film in total.) Using shots during the execution scene, where Snow and Coin are in the same line of sight on multiple occasions, could have been handled differently too. I guess only a few people were surprised by the arrow's direction.

Visual & Music

I can be brief about this, it was phenomenal. The music was a tad less interesting than in the former movies, but still greatly timed and chosen. CGI and SFX was stunning. I was never a big fan of the the underground part, but the mutts were done amazingly well with so much detail and wrath it rightuously felt absolutely threatening. As they truely are one of the capitols most deadly weapons. Even though I knew something would happen in seconds, I still jumped by surprise a few times.

Overall

After all it is a movie with many perks and some tiny flaws that are very understandable. A worthy ending to one of the most important series of its genre.
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CinemaSerf
/10  2 years ago
So, finally - we reach the denouement. The ambitious and devious President "Coin" (Julianne Moore) thinks that the District 13 rebels have the upper hand, and so using "Katniss" (Jennifer Lawrence) as their poster girl, sets off to storm the very heart of the Capitol and depose the now very much weakened "Snow" (Donald Sutherland) who is, clearly, not in the best of health. What now ensues are a series of set-piece, occasionally morale-building but entirely predictable escapades that I have to say by now, I had really lost interest in. Who did what to whom in this overlong and really pretty procedural franchise was really beginning to matter less and less. What made the characterisations interesting and quirky at the beginning now just makes them rather dull. "Peeta" (Josh Hutcherson) features sparingly as he needs rescuing from the nasty government who are clearly drugging him up to his eyeballs and using as their Lord Haw Haw figure whilst hunky "Gale" (Liam Hemsworth) has little more to do than outrun some rather clunky special effects, some extras from an as yet unmade "Alien" film and look good wet - a task he manages well enough now and again. It's an action movie, so no point trying to scrutinise the merits of the dialogue. Otherwise, this was more of a relief than an enjoyment. At last the series could take a much deserved cat-nap.
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Frank Ochieng
/10  6 years ago
The Hunger Games creator and mastermind Suzanne Collins has brought to life the explosive and resilient heroine Katniss Everdeen (not to mention the resourceful actress stepping into her action-oriented shoes and consciousness in the form of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence). Now with the conclusive The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2 ardent and casual fans of this imaginative and charged film franchise will get a chance to soak in the cinematic experience that has carried them through this durable trilogy. However, the question remains: does Mockingjay--Part 2 fulfill the adventurous swagger of its previous predecessors as it demonstrates its furious farewell in moodiness and mischievousness? Well, the answer is a resounding YES but some will still address the concept of the film's emotional and psychological leanings as merely serviceable to a string of feisty films that invited such passion, pronouncement and promise in its commentary on class struggle and societal survival means as a whole.

The Hunger Games cinematic installments (and of course Collins's riveting literary outlets) have always been a solid and secure movie-going moment because it offered what so few action-packed features entailed: a perceptive and honest if not hedonistic look at the politics in the human psyche set aside from the rough-and-tumble sequences of action and suspense. The Games that were played in the minds of the audience were intriguing, thoughtful, compelling and smart about its wits and wisdom. All The Hunger Games editions were message-driven and presented a special kind of indescribable opulence and openness that was refreshing. Sure, there are the highs and lows that comes with the territory when mapping out a showcase of sequels bound to stumble on its lapses in story and characterization. Still, for the most part The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2 leaves the viewers wanting more but being compliant with what amounts to be the swan song for courageous cutie Katniss Everdeen's big screen legacy.

It is quite clear that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2 and its previous outings has carved a decisive niche into the Young Adult film fiction genre as one of the most successful and consistently received chapters that sparkled in its over-glow of gallant gumption and soul-searching turmoil. Indeed, Mockingjay--Part 2 does add its measurement of tension, radiance, redemption and resolution. Importantly, Mockingjay--Part 2 maintains its reflective and steady balance of hope and rebellious vibes and Lawrence has not lost a single ounce of momentum in the few years since she donned the respectable defiance of the roguish Katniss out to settle a continuous score with the controlling powers-that-be. Instinctively, labeling The Hunger Games motivating movie series as a pop cultural phenom would not risk the intention of sounding overdramatic because for the most part this film franchise has been a saving grace to the aforementioned Young Adult film fiction craze that has offered cemented substance in comparison to the soapy sentiments of the immense Twilight umbrella that spread like wildfire in the unguarded woods years before.

As one can imagine Mockingjay--Part 2 picks up where the first Mockingjay left off in its initial premise. Director Francis Lawrence (back at the helm) starts his narrative rather slow and plodding but builds up the sassy momentum as his on-screen victorious vixen Katniss Everdeen pounces on her latest exploits to expose and agitate the corruptible Capitol and its lead manipulator in the likes of the diabolical President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The good news is that the determined Katniss is finally reunited with her former Games companion and romantic partner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). The bad news is that poor Peeta has been manipulated and convinced to view Katniss as an enemy courtesy of Snow's menacing minions. Automatically, this is the difficult wedge that puts a damper on Katniss's ability to go after Snow and his vile followers with Peeta serving as their brainwashed Boy Wonder with the forced hatred in tact.

So now the course is set for Katniss Everdeen to follow as she decides to pursue her intentions of gradually taking down the governmental negligence of Snow and his abominable administration. Naturally, Katniss needs the assistance of the rebels under the tutelage of District 13's President Alma Coin (Oscar-winner Julianne Moore) as well as the input from wily gamemaster Plutarch Heavensbee (late Oscar-winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to take down the dangerous and devious Snow and his governmental criminal cronies. Politically, the opportunistic Coin wants Katniss in her camp for the mere promotion of propaganda...something that just does not sit well with the feminine avenger.

The stakes are understandably high but Katniss is in company with the likes of her childhood sweetie pie Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and old-time buddy Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) as they join forces to combat the evil clutched of the Capitol. The bottom line: the venomous President Snow needs to be cut down in his treacherous tracks...plain and simple.

Quite frankly, the beleaguered Katniss is caught up in the complicated web of a couple of political powerhouses in the insufferable Snow (that wants to destroy her) and Coin (that wants to use her reputation for marketing purposes) willing to go at it while using Katniss's exposed neck as the sacrificial pawn to determine their sense of twisted greatness. For the most part, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2 does present a skillful display of confusion and identity and Lawrence's death-dodging diva Katniss Everdeen is the epitome of a Girl on Fire with flames of indecision and doubt burning all around her. Who can she trust? Who has the fortitude to stick with the plan and ensure that the tedious target of Snow is silenced for sure? Can Katniss overcome the obstacles of her great love Peeta's perverse distaste for her while battling one narcissistic leader as another one she is joined at the hip exploits her presence? There seems to be a constant continuity for conflict in warfare and wounded souls that elevates Mockingjay--Part 2 as a boisterous board game of physical and psychological movement. As usual, Lawrence's Katniss carries the animated strife on her dainty yet athletic shoulders with bouncy boldness.

After four exhilarating films, The Hunger Games empire does not crumble but comes to a full scale halt as it understands the allegory claims for the distrusting contemporary times we all live in regarding the cynicism, abuse of privilege and the underestimation of the weary masses being led astray by the controlling elite of unassuming movers and shakers. The audacity of The Hunger Games odyssey was to get down and dirty about the give-and-take tendencies of a global society willing to challenge the authoritative scrutiny or kneel at its merciless ankles. Perhaps Mockingjay--Part 2 should not be perceived so deeply in its final revelation. Nevertheless, the effort in trying to do so should be acknowledged for an actioner that dared to approach such thought-provoking fodder within its bombastic boundaries.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2 (2015)

Lionsgate Films

2 hrs. 17 mins.

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Elisabeth Banks, Mahershala Ali, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Paula Malcomson, Stanley Tucci, Michelle Forbes

Directed by: Francis Lawrence

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre: Science Fiction and Fantasy/Action and Adventure

Critic's rating: *** stars (out of 4 stars)

(c) Frank Ochieng 2015
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Andres Gomez
/10  6 years ago
The movie is not bad directed and the cast does a decent job. Actually, the script is a good adaptation of the book.

The problem is that the story of the book is already quite bad and has gone down the sink by now so the whole movie just doesn't work.
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