"Mockingjay - Part 2" Brings The Hunger Games to a Depressing Close

 
   So, this weekend marks the opening of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2", the final installment of the epic series. As a finale, one might expect that all the stops would be pulled in order to give the audience the epic send-off they paid dearly to see. I mean, when you're dealing with a limited franchise based off a book series, the end is obviously inevitable. It's not like the Marvel Cinematic Universe where it seems like they're going to be pumping out comic book films until the end of days. Past franchises have done all they can to stay as true to their source material as possible, while also making an enjoyable, entertaining film for everyone, including the many who haven't read the source material. The Lord of the Rings, the best book-to-film adaptation (in my book, *wink wink*) stayed pretty darn close to the source material while also giving us one of the most epic franchise endings of all time with "The Return of the King".

   Staying it tow with Middle-earth, The Hobbit trilogy, with all it's faults and its apparent bloatedness, still gave us a grand finale with "The Battle of the Five Armies". The Harry Potter franchise ended in such a remarkable way that "Deathly Hallows Part 2" completely overshadowed "Deathly Hallows Part 1", which quite honestly was the most boring Harry Potter film of the lot. It's true, Part 2 was AMAZING! Part 1 left me sleepy. It's unfortunate that Hollywood finds making money more important than giving us QUALITY material. These bloated franchise endings are a joke; and all of them, and I mean ALL of them (Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2, Harry Potter 7 - parts 1 and 2, and Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2) suffer because of it. They all have boring, uneventful, and drawn out Part 1's, and only Harry Potter was able to give us a quality Part 2. So since this review is focusing on Mockingjay Part 2, I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this.

   Let me start by saying that I liked this film a lot better than Part 1, which as I mentioned before was b-o-r-i-n-g. The whole movie served as one long set-up for what was apparently suppose to be an epic finish with Part 2. In that regard, now having seen Part 2, I felt let down. I haven't read the books, so those of you who have I'm sure will strongly disagree with this post. There's plenty of good things about this movie though, and I'm going to be as optimistic as possible, without sacrificing honesty. I have it on good authority from those in my viewing party who had read the books that Mockingjay Part 2 was insanely close to the original book, and was the best adaptation of the lot. Hearing that though didn't make my thoughts on the matter any better. From the standpoint of a movie fan, they really didn't need to split this movie in two.

   The film picks up pretty much exactly where the last one ended. After the events of the waste-of-time Part 1, the war for Panem escalates dramatically to the destruction of other districts by the Capitol. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), the reluctant leader of the rebellion, strives to bring together an army against President Snow (Donald Sutherland), while all she holds dear hangs in the balance. Going into this film I was expecting this huge showdown between the rebellion and the capitol. I was hoping for this grand, chaotic showdown...and there really was none. That's not entirely fair given that I had no idea what the story would be about not having read the books. Katniss' emotional arc is much more intimate than a featured epic battle, and it's through her eyes that we see the events play out. She leads a band of soldiers through the capitol in order to get to Snow, who has planted Hunger Games-esque obstacles all throughout the city in order to stop them. The moments where they are dealing with the various traps are exciting and intense, but they're few and far between. There are moments where the movie drags, and I mean DRAGS, like a freakin' snail. Then all of a sudden there are these quick action moments, enough to make you think like "Alright, here we go, I can dig th--" and then it's over. From an entertainment value, I was left wanting. The story is about Katniss' struggle and emotional arc, and I get that. However, not everyone has read the books. These movies need to entertain regardless of whether or not you're familiar with the story. The first two films were entertaining from start to finish. These last two not so much. They're emotionally engaging, but even that aspect isn't quite fleshed out enough.

 
   As for the story of this particular piece, the movie is depressing. I mean, let's be honest, the entire premise of the franchise is depressing; sending off your kids to kill each other while everyone watches on TV, all in the name of controlled peace, only to lead to an eventual rebellion, it's a recipe for emotional disaster. I completely get and appreciate that. It's true, however, that there isn't much to be happy about in this movie. Even the ending is somewhat depressing. The structure of this final installment was choppy, with horribly unexplained time jumps, and obvious plot points. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, most of which are highly underdeveloped. Ironic given that this last book was given two movies to explain everything and ultimately squanders it. The love trio of Katniss, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) gives us some interesting, and emotional tension, yet when all is said and done, you're left questioning whether the choices made were even the right ones. It's understandable, just not as pretty and tied-up as some might want.

   I feel bad harping on this so much because I really enjoyed the beginning half of this franchise, and as a movie-lover I only want what's best for the films. This movie wasn't all bad though. Like I said, Mockingjay Part 2 was better than the last film. There's actually action in this movie! As I mentioned earlier, they really did a great job capturing the intensity of the small group's mission into the capitol as they dodge the various traps set for them. Jennifer Lawrence shines once again as the heroine. I mean, this woman can act her face off. She does such incredible work in all her films, and she's done such an amazing job throughout this franchise. The supporting cast as well. For what it's worth this movie has some fantastic acting in it. The themes of the franchise are done really well, really showcasing the politically driven, anti-war message that was initiated way back in the first film. Love, loss, family, and the influence of PTSD on those who have endured horrific events like war, or the Hunger Games for that matter, are heavily present and act as the emotional backbone of this entire franchise. That's probably why it's so depressing. As a movie lover you get used to the happy endings, and I'm not saying the ending is sad (nor am I saying it's happy, you'll have to find out for yourself) but given the content of the story, the ending is fitting yet tonally not what some would expect.

   Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 should have been one film. So maybe you let it run three hours, who cares? Everyone is going to see it anyway. I just think this mentality that Hollywood has in stretching these stories out so far, wringing as much money out of them as possible, is really doing these stories a huge disservice. I truly feel that any franchise that falls under this mentality, the Hunger Games franchise included, suffers because of it. Sure, we get more screen time with the characters we've come to love and enjoy watching, but at what cost? I feel like a hypocrite sometimes when it comes to this subject because there are franchises, like The Hobbit, which could have been just as effective as two films, that I thoroughly enjoyed as three. That's the beauty of having an opinion. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" is going to make boo-koo bucks, that's given. Most of you will enjoy it. There's enough good things about this movie (though it may not seem so after reading this) that makes it worth watching. The Hunger Games is a great franchise, even with the lacking finale films. With that said, and with all the harping I've given them, I'd watch Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 over the likes of, say the Twilight saga any day. Sorry Team Edward and Team Jacob, for when it comes down to it, I suppose "I'm with the Mockingjay".


Click here to check out my review of Mockingjay - Part 1