The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson, Liam Hemsworth and Donald Sutherland
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for some thematic material
It has finally come to the end. In this last chapter of the highly anticipated Hunger Games franchise, Katniss and her two boyfriends, Peeta and Gale, set off to do battle in the capital with the hope of killing off President Snow once and for all.
The great thing about this Hunger Games finale is that the franchise started out strong and each one of these films has been consistent since. This film is no different. It is a loyal telling of the book’s story and while the movies have gotten progressively darker (hard to believe if you haven’t read the books), they have not deviated from their source material in any major way.
In other words – you won’t be surprised – and that’s a good thing. Since a vast majority of the audience has read through the novels at least once, almost everyone will get exactly what they expect out of this finish. This sounds elementary, but so many recent franchises haven’t accomplished this. Twilight, Maze Runner and The Divergent Series have managed some extreme let downs due to filmmakers’ inability to represent the various authors’ visions on screen. The fact that The Hunger Games has carried out this feat in spectacular fashion is a huge accomplishment and one that will be heralded for decades to come.
So is the film perfect? Hardly. I’m still not convinced that we needed a two-part finale. While the actions taken by the cast are in the book, much of it is unnecessary for the telling of the overall story and I bet a talented screenwriter could have put this thing in at one film with less than a three hour running time. That being said, the studio wants to make money and this formula has been working for Hollywood so I get why they do it.
At least the filmmakers didn’t sleep walk through it. It appears that they made every attempt to give us our money’s worth. If they are going to try to take some extra hard-earned dollars, its nice that they at least want to have you enjoying yourself while you cough them up. Overall, I feel that my time spent with these films has been well-rewarded. A-