Welcome to the 76th Annual Hunger Games! It's all out war between the Districts and the Capital. Only one will prevail and Katniss Everdeen becomes the leader we always expected her to be... well nearly. Taking back the Capital has been a 2 part affair. While it stays close to home when comparing the source material, the story itself as a standalone entry in the film series tends to be the weakest. Our spoiler free review is below.
I should start by telling you that I have read all of the Hunger Games books. Now I'm not the kind of person to sit here and have you read what was different between the book and movie. (While it stays true to the source material there are changes and little omissions throughout as to be expected with any film based on a book.) However judging this movie as a film by itself splitting it into two parts hinders the affect of the drama happening on screen. It's the same issue I've had with movies such as the Harry Potter Series who split their finale into two parts which lessens the overall impact of the series. That being said I do appreciate the writers not talking down to the audience and requires you to know what has happened prior to the film.
The movie starts out right where it left off with Katniss having just seen Peeta and his brainwashed mental state, after being rescued from the Capital. Katniss is still the poster girl for the rebellion. The movie continues to explore the idea of propaganda and how it works to build support for a cause. One of my favorite parts of The Hunger Games is how it evolves into a multi-layered story with many shades of gray. Characters who you've known, have their own intentions that lie beyond the future directly ahead of them. What one person thinks will be the best coarse of action down the road may or may not be the best for all parties involved and makes the characters make tough choices that will affect the future of Panam.
Once the movie gets going however we are swung right back into the heart of the story. Katniss fighting to keep be a strong leader and reach her ultimate goal of over taking The Capital with the Rebels and killing President Snow. However dangerous the external conflict, Katniss can't turn away from the internal conflict in her love triangle between Gale and Peeta. At one point Gale even tells Peeta, even if they both live through it all, she will have to choose the one she can't live without. The downside is that the acting between Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) doesn't carry as much weight because we have hardly seen them on the screen at the same time up until this point. The effect seems closer to something like a teenage feud, rather than Gale being a jealous boyfriend who is slowly loosing the girl he's been in love with.
The action sequences in the movie are entertaining, (although heavy on the CGI) do match with the rest of the films. A few of them are rather gruesome, like when they are running through the Capital city streets avoiding pods. This movie does improve on the slower build up that Part one suffered from being a bit more draggy.
Phillip Seymore Hoffman is back Plutarch one last time, He's not in the film much but seeing him on screen reminded me of how much he will be missed in the industry. Jennifer Lawrence does her job very well carrying the movie as usual as Katniss and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch is entertaining as always.
Mocking Jay: Part 2 may not be the best in the series due to its split finale, however staying true to the source material, and not talking down to the audience is a definite plus in my book. The third book was my least favorite of the series however as a film and entire series, this war story is worth being apart of its final fight.
Final Score 3.5 / 5
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