Read my review of THE HUNGER GAMES here
Read my review of THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE here
Read my review of THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, Part 1 here
I was a fan of the first three movies in the Hunger Games franchise although the idea of splitting the adaptation of the last volume of Suzanne Collins' trilogy made me nervous. It's one of the rare franchises that remained relatively unscathed by the usual bullshit of the movie business over its deployment. The planned ending for Katniss Everdeen's refreshing silver screen tenure came at an ill-advised timing as it faced juggernauts such as Creed, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Hateful Eight in theaters, so The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 went relatively unnoticed. It's tempting to believe the movie suffered a terrible injustice, but I assure you it didn't. The Mockingjay had flamed out in a pompous and useless production.
Don't even try to watch the Hunger Games out of order. It's imperative for you to watch the first three movies in order to appreciate The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2. I'm not going to try and sum up the whole mythos here. Read the previous reviews if you're curious. Basically, the movie picks up with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) furious at president Snow (Motherfuckin' Donald Sutherland) for brainwashing hearthrob Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) into trying to murder her and requesting the privilege to end the old fart. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 is not a terrible movie per se, but I've spoiled it explaining you the first five minutes. That's the kind of movie it is. Katniss sets her sight on the Capitol with a small group of soldiers and business goes down. For two hours.
It won't surprise any of you but: Mockingjay never should've been split in two movies and Part 2 suffers greatly from that poorly planned cash grab. What it should've been is one movie of about three hours. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 is poorly constructed and stretches every scene as thin as it can. The worst part is the never-ending tunnel scenes where Katniss' group of ragtag soldiers (consisting mostly of characters from the previous movies, of course) trot from a confrontation to another.
There is a particular painful scene where a background character slides through a tight space to explore a dark area on the other side. Guy slips left of the frame. Then right. Then left. It goes on forever before he is finally dismembered by things that look ripped from a Guillermo Del Toro movie. It's not an original scene. There's one like than in every boring, cliché horror movie and yet this one unwittingly indulges into its own mechanics. It should last ten seconds and I believe it is over a minute long. The entire film is filled with cheap and infuriating filler like this. I can only imagine the panicking feeling of having to come up with two hours worth of content for a movie like this.
Don't even try to watch the Hunger Games out of order. It's imperative for you to watch the first three movies in order to appreciate The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2. I'm not going to try and sum up the whole mythos here. Read the previous reviews if you're curious. Basically, the movie picks up with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) furious at president Snow (Motherfuckin' Donald Sutherland) for brainwashing hearthrob Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) into trying to murder her and requesting the privilege to end the old fart. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 is not a terrible movie per se, but I've spoiled it explaining you the first five minutes. That's the kind of movie it is. Katniss sets her sight on the Capitol with a small group of soldiers and business goes down. For two hours.
It won't surprise any of you but: Mockingjay never should've been split in two movies and Part 2 suffers greatly from that poorly planned cash grab. What it should've been is one movie of about three hours. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 is poorly constructed and stretches every scene as thin as it can. The worst part is the never-ending tunnel scenes where Katniss' group of ragtag soldiers (consisting mostly of characters from the previous movies, of course) trot from a confrontation to another.
There is a particular painful scene where a background character slides through a tight space to explore a dark area on the other side. Guy slips left of the frame. Then right. Then left. It goes on forever before he is finally dismembered by things that look ripped from a Guillermo Del Toro movie. It's not an original scene. There's one like than in every boring, cliché horror movie and yet this one unwittingly indulges into its own mechanics. It should last ten seconds and I believe it is over a minute long. The entire film is filled with cheap and infuriating filler like this. I can only imagine the panicking feeling of having to come up with two hours worth of content for a movie like this.
Left: Mockingjay, Part 2 - Right: the rest of the series.
Suzanne Collins originally split the Hunger Games in three volumes because they all built on one another. The first volume brought you the horror of the games. the second one brought the unfair and corrupt nature of the government and finally the third, while less original, brought you satisfaction. See where I'm getting at? The story in itself is fine. Katniss Everdeen is her usual upstanding self * although the last movie makes it seem like she stopped caring about her little sister Primrose all of a sudden. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 is a wet firecracker because the marketing department at Lionsgate tried to make you pay double and this is something we should all be angry at. This movie is a prime example of a stupid business decision ruining an enjoyable product.
Not much of my righteous anger about The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 will be remembered. I expect that even I will look back upon the franchise fondly in a couple years. The cinematographic ending of The Hunger Games was bungled by a greedy movie studio, but the franchise will be remembered for Katniss Everdeen: a smart, selfless and resourceful young woman who doesn't need any man to keep her alive. She has already become my go-to archetype for strong female characters. So, should you bother to watch The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2? I don't know, maybe Netflix it when it'll be available for streaming? Read the plot summary on Wikipedia? The first three movies are great and contain about 90% of what you need to know. Invest as little money and effort as possible into this lifeless conclusion.
* A self I have thoroughly discussed in reviews of the prior movies.