Movie review: Mockingjay Part 2

Hello, my dear readers!

A year ago today, I and one of my friends went to the premiere of the Mockingjay Part 1 as we have done with all the previous THG films. 12 months later, I have graduated high school and have moved to a different country and I am seeing this film alone,thus, breaking the 3-year-old tradition. And although to an outsider this seems like a laughable occasion to be sad about, I can’t help but feel like another part of my life, the careless teenage years, has ended. I had the same happy/sad/proud/self-reflection moment back in 2011 when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 came out – only then I said goodbye to my childhood. Anyway, enough of my sappy complaining about life, let’s review the closing chapter of another YA series – The Hungers Games Mockingjay Part 2.

IMDb summary: 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.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Book and Movie

I have read all the Hunger Games books more than 4 years ago, so I definitely do not remember all the details of the story. However, I do feel that the Part 2 was extremely faithful to the book, because I knew all the twist in the story and I could also easily predict the moments of death of a few of my favorite characters – if the filmmakers would have wanted to change that aspect of the story, I wouldn’t have had a problem with that.

The problem I had with the film and its predecessor is the fact that I do not think they needed to stretch out Mockingjay into 2 parts. I have  2 reasons for this:

1.By stretching out the story and then dividing it into 2 films, they made two very uneven movies: one was practically action-less and had a serious, more grown-up tone while the second one had more action (still, not as much as the mainstream audiences expected) and a more youthful, rebellious tone.  If they would have joined the two halves, maybe they could have evened out the tone.

2. THG series has a lot of characters and all of them should have definitely received more screen time. However, half of the characters that were developed in Part 1 were dropped in Part 2 and vice versa – some characters were completely forgotten in Part 1 and reappeared out of nowhere in Part 2. If they would have joined the two parts, the development of the supporting characters would have made more sense and the individual screen time of the characters would have been more even.

Writing/Directing

Francis Lawrence directed the last entry into the franchise. He also did the Part 1 (obviously) and Catching Fire. I think he did a great job – I especially liked the long around/circle panning shots of Katniss hugging Prim and Katniss arriving at the front lines and the crowd greeting her with the hand sign.  I also really loved the shots of Katniss and Cressida running or working together as well as the pairing of Finnick and Peeta.

The screenwriters for the film were Peter Craig (who wrote Affleck’s The Town), Danny Strong (who wrote The Butler) and the author of the book Suzanne Collins herself. I loved the dialogue of the film: it was heartbreaking and extremely sincere.  I also really enjoyed the conversation between Peeta and Gale and the moment that Haymitch and Effie shared (I ship it, do you?).

I heard some people say that the ending of the film was extremely stretched out – similarly to the Lord of the Rings Return of the King. I can see where they are coming from and why they might have a problem with it. However, I did like the ending ,because it was lifted straight from the book. The last words of Katniss, about making a list of all the good things and ”there are worst games to play” came from the book, from the very last pages of it.

Lastly, since I don’t remember the book that well, I wonder whether the Plutarch’s letter was in the book or did they screenwriters made it up so as to deal Philip Seymour Hoffman’s untimely death.

Visuals/Action

Part 2 had more action than Part 1 but not as much as people expected it to have. I did not have a problem with that but it might damage the film’s reputation in the eyes of the mainstream viewers. I really liked the action scene with tar and, of course, the final arrow to the chest.

Music/Soundtrack

We all still remember the hauntingly beautiful song by Lawrence/Katniss – The Hanging Tree (it even reached the top list of various radio stations) from the Part 1. However, Part 2 had amazing music as well by James Newton Howard. I liked the instrumental score which accompanied the action and the ending/credit song –Deep in the Meadow (Lullaby) sung by Lawrence – it triggered this hopeful and optimistic feeling – like everything will be right in the world one day. The fans will remember that this was the song of Rue’s death in the 1st film. Only back then, it caused a very different feeling, followed by tears.

Reality

The Hunger Games has always been praised for reflecting the contemporary events of real life and Mockingjay Part 2 is no exception. It was definitely a version of exaggerated reality and portrayed what happens when personal (selfish) goals get in a way of the public ones. In addition, it showed that fighting violence with violence is not a good idea. The saying ‘Revolution eats its own children’, which I believe originated during the French Revolution, comes to mind.

Acting/Character by character/Themes

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss: It is not a secret to anyone that Lawrence is an amazing actress. I knew nothing about her before her first outing as Katniss in 2012, but now I watch all of her films. Once again she did an amazing with her monologs and speeches as well as all the arrow shooting scenes (made me miss my bow, which I had to leave in my home country). Also, am I the only one who thinks that as the franchise’s themes got more depressing and darker, her hair also became blacker? Or maybe they just used a different wig.

Although the THG franchise is over, Lawrence’s career is only getting started. Next year, she will star in her next big franchise – X-Men Apocalypse and quite highly anticipated science fiction drama Passengers with Chris Pratt.

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta: I have never been a huge fan of Peeta but I really liked him in this film. The conversation ‘real’ and ‘not real’ were amazing. Since THG is now over, Hutcherson is moving onto different projects. In 2016, he will be in James Franco’s film In Dubious Battle and in 2017, we will see him in another of Franco’s films – The Long Home.

Liam Hemsworth as Gale: I liked the moments he shared with the other characters and I just wish that we could have spent more time with him not only in this film but in the whole franchise. I also wonder what could have happened if Gale would have taken Peeta’s place in the First Hunger Games? Next year, Hemsworth will star in the Independence Day sequel – Independence Day: Resurgence.

Sam Claflin as Finnick: The scene in the tunnels was the one I was dreading since I knew what was going to happen to him and Finnick is my favorite male character out of the franchise. Claflin was a perfect choice for this character: charming and extremely likable even if he plays a cocky or full-of-himself type of character. I loved how they gave the line ‘Welcome to the 76th Hunger Games’ to Finnick as well! Claflin has a few upcoming movies: he is reprising his role of William in 2016’s The Huntsman and starring in a few smaller projects – Their Finest Hour and a Half and Me Before You opposite Emilia Clarke.

Natalie Dormer as Cressida: I love Dormer on Game of Thrones and I really liked her in THG films. I loved the fact that she was a bad ass with both the camera and a gun. In 2016, Dormer will be in a few horror films- The Forest and Patient Zero.

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch were all really great additions to the cast. I don’t have anything specific to say about their characters since they had only a few scenes. However, I can mention that I am really excited for Harrelson’s next film Now You See Me: The Second Act since I loved the first movie. Banks’ career is also on a high note with Pitch Perfect and various producing as well as directing gigs.

Julianne Moore as President Coin and Donald Sutherland as President Snow. Two antagonists which are worth each other. Perfect casting choices. I have never been a huge fan of Moore’s but she won me over in Part 2. I also recently saw the film called The Hours – she was wonderful in it. Sutherland’s Snow’s last laugh was also perfect – straight from the book too.

Willow Shields as Primrose had only 3 scenes. If we would have spent more time with her, the emotional impact of her death would have been much stronger. Shields’s career is also just beginning – I think we will see more of her in a near future.

Jena Malone as Johanna had only a few scenes which she killed. The dialogue between Johanna and Katniss in the hospital was heartbreaking and funny/witty/sassy at the same time. We will see more of Malone next year in one the most highly anticipated films – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Stanley Tucci as Caesar, Jeffrey Wright as Beetee, Elden Henson as Pollux also had tiny roles or cameos. They did a nice job with what they had. Tucci will start in Beauty and the Beast in 2017, Wright will voice one of the characters in The Good Dinosaur later this year and Henson still has Netflix’s Daredevil’s Season 2.

Gwendoline Christie as Commander Lyme and Patina Miller as Commander Paylor also had really tiny roles, although both of them had nice/inspiring speeches. Christie will also be in Stars Wars The Force Awakens in a few weeks and Miller in the TV show – Madam Secretary.

In summary, Mockingjay Part 2 was a great film, although it could have been much better if joined with the first part. The acting was really nice, the dialogue – heartbreaking and the action – exciting. The fact that the film reflected the real world didn’t hurt either.

If I was asked to line-up all the films in the franchise, this would be my list:

1. Catching Fire
2. Mockingjay Part 1
3. Mockingjay Part 2
4. The Hunger Games

Goodbye, and for the last time- May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!

Rate: 4/5

Trailer: Mockingjay Part 2 Trailer