The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, the long awaited sequel to Part 1 from last winter by director Francis Lawrence was nowhere near as good as Part 1 in my opinion. In fact Part 2 felt like it was a movie those involved in it or with it were just going through the motions. It was boring and uninspired. Because of that I can barely give Mockingjay 2 two buckets of Killer Korn.












So I finally saw this movie over the holidays, and I am glad I did not rush out and pay NYC movie theater ticket prices to see it. I would have truly been displeased had I done so. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is a flat out boring film. That's not to say there isn't any action sequences because there are, but even those were tired and weak (mainly because of all the nothing that surrounds the sequences). I read all the books in the series by Suzanne Collins, and I remember the third book distinctly because it contained the attack on the Capitol, and it worked for the most part. The problem with this movie is that it stuck far too close to the book. I get it, You want to do that as much as possible as to not upset the fan base, but the way the book was written in my opinion wasn't going to translate well visually. This was supposed to be the culmination of the series, the all out attack on the Capitol. It was supposed to be this major confrontation and battle. Instead what we got was a movie that couldn't decide if it wanted to be an action film or a dramatic one. Instead we got a movie devoid of both.

This was one movie where a little thing known as "creative license" would have worked wonders. Instead of following the book almost to the letter and giving us wasted characters with no backstory why not give us an exciting action packed culmination with the ending of the book? Mockingjay Part 2 was a sorry way for this franchise to bow out. I don't know about anyone else, but I hate a bad ending to anything, and this was just horrid. We saw nothing new or different from Katniss this time around while heading into the Capitol on a mission to kill Snow. No ferocity or determination whatsoever. No frustration on her part to being used for propaganda purposes, and no real drive to get the job done as soon as possible to end all the bloodshed. What Francis Lawrence instead gave us was a suicide mission with characters we know NOTHING about, basically making them cannon fodder.

This film was filmed at the same time as Mockingjay Part 1 which is probably why everyone looked exhausted. They either seemed drained or completely disinterested, and believe me that showed onscreen. Visually the film looked the part, same camera work, same tone and look as the previous two, and that's thanks to Jo Willems who shot them. The music by James Newton Howard was great work, and he tried to give this placid movie some kind of movement. It was a valiant attempt, and I tip my hat to his effort, but honestly nothing was going to save this movie from itself. All I'll say is this. If you haven't seen this movie yet then save your money, buy the soundtrack, and read the last book as you listen. That's a better way to spend your money and your time. I'll see you at the theater.