The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) Directed by Francis Lawrence. Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth. IMDB says: “As the war of Panem escalates to the destruction of other districts by the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen, the reluctant leader of the rebellion, must bring together an army against President Snow, while all she holds dear hangs in the balance.”
With this fourth film, we bring to a close the story of a revolution in the dystopian world of Panem and the character arc of Katniss Everdeen, reluctant hero. There’s been a lot of build up to this last chapter, so pressure is there to really wrap it up in an effective and satisfying way. Even as a reader knowing where events are leading, you still desire a finale that lives up to your expectations. These films have always been better than a young adult novel adaptation even necessitates, and Mockingjay Part 2 rounds out the series to make it a well done franchise, consistently hitting high marks.
Through four movies we’ve followed Katniss, former resident of the coal mining District 12 of Panem, a country ruled by the elite class while a majority of its citizens live in controlled poverty. She’s survived two fights to the death, unintentionally became a figurehead of a rebellion, and fought to protect her family and dismantle the cruel power of her main foe President Snow. In this culmination of all that’s come before, Katniss joins the fight as the rebellion takes arms against the Capitol to finally overthrow the system. She makes her way to the Capitol against orders to hang back at the underground fortress and rebellion headquarters of District 13. Once there she’s relegated to a squad of highly trained soldiers who’ve been tasked with staying out of the action and recording footage to use for the cause. It’s not exactly the action she’d intended to take part in and plans to break apart at the first opportunity to continue on her plan to assassinate President Snow and end this suffering.
Of course, the squad’s plan to stay on the outskirts and avoid danger doesn’t go according to plan when Katniss’s presence is realized. Just like in the Hunger Games of movies past, crazy booby traps and methods of violence and horror are encountered proving to be one last battle for survival. Alongside that, we have Katniss dealing with her best friend Gale’s hope for a real romance to develop as he’s taking on more leadership within the rebellion’s army. After Peeta is saved from the Capitol’s capture at the end of the third movie, brainwashed to hate and hurt Katniss, she can no longer rely on this deep friendship that has brought her so much comfort. He’s slowly returning to his previous self, but still a dangerous presence in her midst. You have the classic love triangle of badass yet emotionally-unstable female, vanilla friend-zoned dude, and murderous sweetheart. This side of the movies has always been nicely subtle compared to the greater themes and action, but it is laid on a little thicker here in the finale. I supposed you need to wrap it up and bring it to a conclusion, but it’s not always the strongest feature.
Even if the love story isn’t always greatly handled, it’s always been fascinating watching Katniss. She’s constantly forced into situations and not always stepping up out of her own initiative. She has her own motivations and opinions that make her such a solid female character, never feeling like a caricature. Jennifer Lawrence just continues to bring Katniss to life in such a wonderfully acted way. She continues to raise the quality of the series almost single-handedly. It’s an all around great cast supporting her, and the movie is quite effective in giving a lot of these series-long figures their own moments, including a small but emotional few scenes with Philip Seymour Hoffman. The casting to these movies has always been top notch.
As a fan of the more story than action driven Mockingjay Part 1, I wanted this second movie to be more exciting but still compelling. Besides the mostly great cast, the serious edge to The Hunger Games movies has always elevated it past a movie intended as light teen fare. The first three movies frequently have dark moments, but this movie might have more than ever before. There are real stakes that make the action more thrilling and tense – not everyone will make it out alive for a happy ending. Even the words “happy ending” should not be anywhere close to this movie. There is a lot to resolve at the end of this movie and it manages to continue subverting expectations and wrap up the story in a way that stays true to the bleak reality we’ve seen through the series. It deals in the heavy themes that have been developed, dealing with media, fascism, propaganda, and societal inequality.
As a set of films combined, parts one and two of Mockingjay go together really well, with a lot of the world building in the first part giving the second part far more weight. As a Hunger Games fan it is satisfying to watch, and I’m eager to see both back to back. For a series of books written for teens but admired by many of all ages, these movies have been well done adaptions and sci-fi action movies in general. They’re not aiming to be the best-made movies of our time, but like the books written by Suzanne Collins they aim higher than a lightweight popcorn flick. Overall, it’s a series that I’ve always enjoyed and praised.
FTS SCORE: 81%
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
is currently in theaters nationwide.