Rating of
3/4
Rebel With a Cause
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/22/15
"Welcome to the 76th Annual Hunger Games" so says Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) moments before he and a handful of the most bankable rebels embark on a dangerous journey to retake the capitol from the seemingly heartless President Snow (Donald Sutherland).
The Hunger Games ends much the way it began - in good, though not quite spectacular, fashion. I still think Catching Fire reached the pinnacle of this series and I'm still not sure the decision to split Mockingjay into two parts was the correct choice (though it was obviously the most profitable). Mockingjay - Part 2 does have some of the most action-packed scenes in any of the films - as traps, mutant attacks and a tense finale all enhance that aspect of the film. We also get an answer as to who Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) will finally choose to be with - the strong, military-minded Gale (Liam Hemsworth) or the sweet, yet now-damaged, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).
The film pretty much picks up right after the events of Mockinjay Part 1 where Katniss found herself under attack from a brainwashed Peeta. Now sporting a snazzy neck brace, she slowly heals as the resistance leader President Coin (Julianne Moore) and ex-games master Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final film role) question how to best use her in the final push to take down Snow and the capitol. They find out Snow isn't going to go quietly as he transforms his city into a deadly maze of traps - "pods" designed to take down the rebellion be it with fire, guns or something even more sinister.
Katniss defies orders to stay behind and sneaks onto a transport for the front lines where she is greeted by Gale. Now that she has been seen, it is decided she will join an all-start team - not on the front lines, but well behind in order to be the face of the rebellion on the ground. But don't think that means they will be safe - there is still plenty of danger from pods and peacekeepers to be had. Most of the film follows this team as they attempt to reach Snow's mansion - and the danger they face.
The film is filled with familiar faces - Woody Harrelson is back as ex-victor Haymitch Abernathy, Elizabeth Banks is once again dolled up in impeccable (and impractical) couture as Effie Trinket, Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen, Jeffrey Wright as the genius Beetee, Jena Malone as the tough-as-nails Johanna Mason, Natalie Dormer as the filmmaker Cressida - and more. There are newcomers as well - Gwendoline Christie as Commander Lyme and Michelle Forbes as Lieutenant Jackson. The problem with such a huge ensemble cast is that barely any of them really register - and when someone dies you have barely got to know, it doesn't have that much of an impact. Granted, there are some truly good emotional moments - but it doesn't have near the impact it could have by just paring things down.
The film does its best to balance the big action set pieces with quieter moments. Scenes between Lawrence and Hutcherson do feel quite personal. But I never felt like she and Hemsworth really worked that well together. It kind of makes the whole "who will she choose" thing ring a bit hollow as, really, was there any other choice? The ending pulls a nice twist - the scene between Lawrence and Sutherland is excellent - as is the meeting between the surviving victors and Coin and the ultimate finale. At least in that, the movie doesn't disappoint.
In the end, The Hunger Games proves you can adapt a successful YA book into a successful series. I have attempted to get behind others (Divergent, Maze Runner) but none have been able to reach the same heights. Others will come (I'm looking forward to The 5th Wave myself) but I don't know if we'll ever see the likes of The Hunger Games again.
