MOVIE OF THE WEEK (11/20/15): THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 2
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| "I asked for a Super Soaker as a kid, I got a bow with which I can shoot flaming arrows instead ... Seems like a fair trade off!" Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) prepares for her next challenge in a scene from THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 2. Credit: Murray Close © 2015 Lionsgate Publicity. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrleson, Elizabeth Banks, Elden Henson, Natalie Dormer, Eugenie Bondurant, Mahershala Ali, Willow Shields, Sam Clafin, Stanley Tucci, Patina Miller and Phillip Seymour Hoffman
WRITER(S): Peter Craig and Danny Strong (screenplay); Suzanne Collins (screen adaptation and original novel on which the film is based)
DIRECTOR(S): Francis Lawrence
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): The final installment of the movie series based on the (once?) über-popular book series by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 finds heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) preparing to do what she has wanted to do since she was first thrust into the arena: Kill Panem's resident tyrant in charge, President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The leader of the rebels, President Coin (Julianne Moore), has used Katniss as the symbolic face of the resistance movement, but is now ready to have her take on a new role: Sitting on the sidelines as the final effort starts to overthrow the Capitol. Besides, Katniss has a more pressing problem to worry about it seems as her former co-Hunger Games winner/what-is-he-now-that-he-has-been-brainwashed-by-President-Snow-and-tried-to-kill-her-at-the-end-of-Mockingjay, Part 1 fiancé Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has been liberated from the Capitol's grasp.
Of course, Katniss is not going to sit on the sidelines, which means that once she infiltrates the unit being led by Boggs (Mahershala Ali), she is going to do whatever she can to put a stop to the war once in for all ...
Of course, Katniss is not going to sit on the sidelines, which means that once she infiltrates the unit being led by Boggs (Mahershala Ali), she is going to do whatever she can to put a stop to the war once in for all ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Jennifer Lawrence fans; Josh Hutcherson fans; teens ages 13-19; young adult dystopian future novel readers; Woody Harrelson fans; Phillip Seymour Hoffman fans who will be happy to see the late actor on screen once again
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who weren't that enthralled with the previous Hunger Games films; people who are "over" the dystopian future/teen leader movie trend; people who cannot enjoy a movie they feel is fairly easy to predict (even if they have not read the books)
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A film that will surely satisfy fans of its previous installments, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 is a fitting – albeit highly predictable and non-groundbreaking – finale to the character that helped propel Lawrence into the role of bankable star.
As someone who has not read one page of Collins' original dialogue, I cannot tell you with any degree of certainty or discretion whether or not any of the films are faithful to the original works. What I can tell you with certainty, however, is that Mockingjay, Part 2 delivers a nice stretch of tense action and commitment from its cast to make it enjoyable for long-standing fans of the series and passable for just about everyone else.
Lawrence does a amicable job of portraying Everdeen maturing into her final transition from child to soldier to independent thinker/leader while maintaining the semblance of someone who is only doing what she is doing out of necessity. She is and was the film's emotional center, playing extremely well off Sutherland's sly, smooth President Snow with relative ease. While Moore's approach to Coin is a bit too over-the-top to not see what's coming, Jena Malone is the most entertaining as Johanna Mason, the comic foil to Katniss who keeps her on her toes and provides a bravado needed in key moments.
Other than that, there's really not too much more one needs to say about Mockingjay, Part 2: There is one really well done action sequence that provides a rather strong moment of tension, things progress as you would expect without being insulting to your intelligence and things wrap up fittingly in a plausible fashion. If you are not a fan of the series, Mockingjay, Part 2 isn't going to do anything to change your opinion on the matter as there is nothing phenomenal that makes the film a must see for anyone beyond their teenage years, but it will serve as a decent cinematic distraction over Thanksgiving weekend.
As someone who has not read one page of Collins' original dialogue, I cannot tell you with any degree of certainty or discretion whether or not any of the films are faithful to the original works. What I can tell you with certainty, however, is that Mockingjay, Part 2 delivers a nice stretch of tense action and commitment from its cast to make it enjoyable for long-standing fans of the series and passable for just about everyone else.
Lawrence does a amicable job of portraying Everdeen maturing into her final transition from child to soldier to independent thinker/leader while maintaining the semblance of someone who is only doing what she is doing out of necessity. She is and was the film's emotional center, playing extremely well off Sutherland's sly, smooth President Snow with relative ease. While Moore's approach to Coin is a bit too over-the-top to not see what's coming, Jena Malone is the most entertaining as Johanna Mason, the comic foil to Katniss who keeps her on her toes and provides a bravado needed in key moments.
Other than that, there's really not too much more one needs to say about Mockingjay, Part 2: There is one really well done action sequence that provides a rather strong moment of tension, things progress as you would expect without being insulting to your intelligence and things wrap up fittingly in a plausible fashion. If you are not a fan of the series, Mockingjay, Part 2 isn't going to do anything to change your opinion on the matter as there is nothing phenomenal that makes the film a must see for anyone beyond their teenage years, but it will serve as a decent cinematic distraction over Thanksgiving weekend.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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