by Jon Partridge
The Hunger Games has been a box office phenomenon taking more than $2 billion with the release of the past 3 films in the series. The last installment, Mockingjay Part 1, the result of a controversial split of the books’ final entry. This first segment looked at the prelude to war, the buildup, plans, and most prominently the use of propaganda that can be used to sway opinion and support, largely through the totem and titular “Mockingjay” Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). The release of Part 2 promises a plunge into the actual action as well as the closeout to the series. While Part 1 built expectation and set the stakes well, Part 2 shows this split to largely be to the detriment of the overall story, providing a competent yet unspectacular finale.
Mockingjay Part 2 picks up immediately where the first left off. Katniss, recovering from her brutal assault by the brainwashed Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is determined to join the assault on District 2, the home to much of Panem’s defensive arsenal. With the rallying of resistance troops they finally break through, leaving an assault on the Capitol possible. As they advance they find that President Snow (Donald Sutherland) has instructed the Gamemakers to turn the outer edges of the city into the equivalent of a Hunger Games arena. Katniss and her team fight their way through the dangers as she focuses on her intent to assassinate Snow and end the war while President Coin (Julianne Moore) presses her advantage, seemingly having plans for the fate of Panem as well as Katniss herself.
The final outing is certainly more of a war film than it’s lead-in, throwing the characters into the midst of the rebellion. The opening provides a personal emotional wallop to Katniss as a small prelude to battle. It’s dark, not just in aesthetics (grey being the predominant color) but also in mood. While the film feels bigger in scale, the Capitol and District 2 sets being impressive, there is a hollowness to them, a sparse quality. The perpetual danger and political machinations that infused Catching Fire are fleeting here. It’s only in the final act kicks in that you feel a grander scale and larger stakes. The majority of the film is spent with a small band of fighters traipsing through the Capitol, avoiding traps (sorry, “PODs”) with the intent of eliminating President Snow. Another rehash of the Hunger Games theme. This is the fundamental issue with the film, a repetitious structure. Talk a bit, go into battle, fight a bit, Katniss gets injured, recovers a bit, then the cycle repeats. This happens no less than 3 times in the film. Granted there are some great moments smattered within these cycles but they are insufficient to sustain the film, buried in the reiteration of the same speeches.
Compounding things is an issue with pace. The beginning feels like it wallows in a personal misery a little too much stemming from the Peeta/Katniss relationship. While towards the end, where much of the more gripping content occurs, it feels somewhat rushed. This is likely an imbalance stemming from splitting the film in two, which also makes the fleeting appearance of established characters such as Effie, Heavensbee (understandable), Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) all the more noticeable. It’s an oddly unbalanced affair, hitting the marks it needs to but just feeling off; stretched too thin. We also get a tacked on “happy” ending that felt no less egregious in the book. While it does acquiesce to the long term scarring of warfare and work in a bittersweet ending, it still feels jarring by its inclusion.
Director Francis Lawrence does well in parts to build a film that conveys the horrors of war despite the film’s rating and lack of bloodshed. While hamstrung by the structure of these concluding films, he acquits himself well overall, particularly with a sewer-set sequence that is genuinely thrilling. Sadly its inclusion only serves to highlight how bereft the rest of the movie is of such tension and pace. For the most part it feels somber and brutal, more tangible than anything else that has come in the wake of the franchise. I’m looking at you Maze Runner and Divergent. While there is minimal bloodshed, there are fleeting moments of unsettling cruelty, deaths of known and unknown cast members, a hammering home of how senseless war is. A scene towards the end showing civilian casualties being particularly startling. The film shows a spark here and there but overall lacks the fire that the Mockingjay is supposed to incite.
Jennifer Lawrence continues to excel and captivate onscreen. She is the center of this film and it is to her credit that with so much riding on her she delivers. In Katniss she has helped craft a very modern and singular feminine hero. One that casts off much of the trivialities associated with young adult/youth novels, instead having her priorities correct and intent on driving change, albeit with a hint of revenge. If The Hunger Games has one legacy it is that it gave us a female lead with emotion married to intelligence, passion paired with wisdom, and elevated her above overt sexualization. Here it’s the boys left with the forlorn glances and pouts. Obviously not reduced to the pathetic levels of the Twilight series but their paths and this love triangle framed as yet another casualty of the war. It’s a far cry from he days of #TeamPeeta and #TeamGale.
The franchise has gradually built up an impressive core of strong female actors. In addition to Lawrence, Julianne Moore provides a chilly counter to the mustache twirling Donald Sutherland and is backed up by Patina Miller as Commander Paylor, Natalie Dormer making more use of expanded screentime as Cressida, Jena Malone is a fantastic unhinged presence, the addition of Michelle Forbes to any cast is always welcome, and a blink and you’ll miss it role for Gwendolyn Christie (Captain Brienne ‘the Beauty’ Phasma herself). The usually hunky male actors take a back seat, brooders rather than doers. It’s refreshing and reassuring that such a changeup is becoming more common and frequently accompanied by box office success.
Mockingjay Part 2 is a sporadic conclusion to the Hunger Games saga. A film that embraces the dark side of war and champions the difference one person can make. But due to pacing and structure issues, the film loses much of the impact it strives for. The highlight of course is Lawrence, a captivating presence even when the film was not. It’s sad to say farewell to Katniss, but something of a relief to bid adieu to gloomy Panem. The legacy of the franchise is secure no doubt, but this closing chapter ends things with more of a thud than a bang.