Director: Francis Lawrence
Distributor: Belga Home Video
Duration: 137 minutes
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (3D Blu-ray) – Movie Review
It hasn’t been long since we were able to experience our own, albeit digital, experience when it comes to The Hunger Games in The Culling. With that in mind, the atmosphere hit even closer to home when we revisited Katniss Everdeen who had become the voice and face of the rebellion in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Now the stage has been set for the final showdown but a clear victor has not been decided yet. We were eager to see the grand finale of this saga, even though we had the feeling things might not really turn out as we would suspect.
Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) barely survived an attack from Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who the rebels successfully extracted from the clutches of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) during the first part of the two Mockingjay movies. While Katniss expected to have her beloved friend/lover/buddy (who truly knows as she goes from one guy to another) back again, it seems the damage was already done and Snow’s indoctrination methods had already gotten to him. Of course this makes Katniss’ blood boil and thus she wants to move against Snow as quickly as possible but Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), the ‘mastermind’ of the rebellion wants to keep her showpiece far away from danger. It’s clear that Coin is not fond of Katniss, but she’s a means to an end, and probably a disposable one when everything goes her way. That being said, after a successful raid, thanks to Katniss’ presence, in District 2, where many lives were lost, the rebels decide to take the fight to Panem.
When Katniss is ordered to stay home, she is hesitant to oblige, but does so nonetheless, at least until she talks to Peeta once more, which is yet another painful reminder of the harm Snow has done. She then decides to head to the front and kill Snow herself and Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) tells her how she can get there without the all seeing eye of Coin to detect her. After a successful trip to the borders of Panem, Coin is well aware of what Katniss has done and decides to use it as another way of making propaganda with Katniss as their model freedom fighter. Katniss is then placed under the command of Boggs (Mahershala Ali), who luckily seems to like her, but Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Finnick (Sam Claflin) make sure she isn’t alone. Sadly, Coin orders they have to stay far behind of the other troops but Katniss will still try to achieve her goal. That being said, the outskirts of the city are now filled with the same ‘pods’, that spawn monsters, weapons or other traps, that could be seen in the games. Win or lose, Snow is going to make a spectacle out of a full-fledged war.
Even though this second part of the ‘Mockingjay’ movies immediately drops you in the scene where Katniss is recovering from Peeta’s murder attempt, the flow of the movie is rather oddly constructed. While at first it’s clear that they simply cut one big movie in half, being able to sell more tickets and physical releases, the action actually only begins after a third of the movie. With the first scene of the movie it feels like everything is going to start with a bang, to simply make room for a dragged out buildup and in the process disappoint the viewer a bit. That being said, the second portion of the movie does make up for a lot, as things are getting interesting and there are a decent amount of plot twists to be found along the danger filled road Katniss has to take.
Acting performances stay in line with the previous movies, with a few faces getting a bit more or less screen time in the conclusion of the series. Jennifer Lawrence still portrays a rather convincing face of the rebellion, albeit with a few scenes that felt a bit on the unnatural side. The love triangle between Katniss, Peete and Gale is still very much alive in this last movie and all respective actors surely pull their weight to make things realistic. Julianne Moore plays the part of a double-faced rebel leader quite well, and as a viewer you immediately know something is up with her character, thanks to the way she behaves. Donald Sutherland is also great in playing the part where one side of the world is right to hate him, but it’s also clear why the populace that surrounds him truly adores him.
The Blu-ray edition that includes the 3D version and an extra DVD disc comes with loads of extras, almost the same length of the actual movie. While many special features present can be considered as simple ‘making of’ scenes of different aspects of the movie, it’s quite fun to see how everything came to life. Not only the special effects and combat scenes are interesting, but the massive amount of costumes used for the movie is also a sight to behold. Makeup has been a very significant part of the movie series as well, and this gets its fair share of attention as well in the extra features, and there are many others still left to explore when you’re finished with the ones mentioned above.
Conclusion
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is a decent end to a successful movie series. While the pace might be odd at times and some might not see the use of the last portion of the story to have been split up in two pieces, the overall content is interesting enough, albeit after a somewhat slow buildup. You’ll feel the ‘Hunger Games’ vibe in the cities of Panem one last time, all while the chain of command might finally become a lot more fair for those who were forced to take part in the games. If you wish to learn what happens to Katniss and her compatriots this one is surely worth the watch, especially with the plot twists to spice things up.
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