The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (Rated T)
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland
Genre: Science Fiction Adventure
Dwight's rating: 2.5 Stars
After four years, "The Hunger Games" film series has come to an end. And the final installment does not disappoint.
And by "not disappoint", I mean it lives up to my greatly diminished expectations, and can only be described as thoroughly "mediocre" at worst, or just "passable" at best.
What had burst out of the gate with much frenzy in 2012 as a surprising tale of teenage survival in an awful future post-bellum North America, has steadily fizzled out, all but crashing with one giant anti-climactic thud. A big part of the problem was the regrettable decision to split the final "Mockingjay" book into two parts. As a result, last year's edition had little action or excitement, and loads of boring dialogue, with characters largely just waiting around for something to happen.
Undoubtedly, "Mockingjay, Part 2" is an improvement over Part 1 (it would have been difficult for it to be worse). But it's still nowhere near as good as the original, or even "Catching Fire" from two years ago.
Picking up where we left off, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) - realizing the stakes are no longer just for survival - teams up with her closest friends, including Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Together, they leave District 13 to liberate the citizens of war-torn Panem and assassinate President Snow (Donald Sutherland), who's obsessed with destroying Katniss. What lies ahead are mortal traps, dangerous enemies and moral choices that will ultimately determine the future of millions.
In re-reading my review of Part 1 from last year, I see that many of the same problematic issues remain here. There is still a lot of uneventful talk with long periods without any action, particularly in the first half. And when we finally get to the exciting scenes, it's clear just how much things have changed with this series.
The two "Mockingjay" editions are essentially now science fiction war films. We've strayed quite a bit from the compelling and engrossing dystopian tale of young people facing extreme moral dilemmas, knowing that every decision could result in the deaths of others fighting for their own lives. Where there was largely reluctance to kill, there is now clear intent is to kill. Yes, we knew this was inevitable, but it completely changes the tone of the series. And as we've seen, most of these sci-fi war films are almost all the same, especially if they are part of a long-running series.
The little quirks and kinks or any sense of humor that might have made earlier installments fun, unique and entertaining, are all virtually wiped out with these down-to-business finales. This has been the case with the final installments of everything from "Harry Potter" to "The Lord of the Rings" to all those recent teenage dystopian dramas. It's the same old, "Run for your life, there's some horrible-looking creatures coming! You'll need to perform some death-defying task in order to survive!" If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all! Yawn!!
"Mockingjay, Part 2" would be an utter waste of time, were it not for one thing - the talented cast! As with Part 1, it is the only thing saving this movie. And most of the credit goes to the spectacular Jennifer Lawrence. Her ability to transform herself is astounding. As teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen, she is so believable. And it's so amazing how different this performance is from her other roles.
Lawrence will next be seen in the film "Joy" next month. I defy you to find even a trace of Katniss, or Tiffany Maxwell, her Oscar-winning role in "Silver Linings Playbook". She is on a short list of actors and actresses who can excel at comedy, drama, romance and action. What can't she do?
Also, Donald Sutherland is, as always, impressive. In less capable hands, President Snow would have been a cartoon villain. Unfortunately, we see much less of the wonderful Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks than we've seen in other editions, and we get only a sliver of scene-stealer Stanley Tucci as the over-the-top Master of Ceremonies of the Hunger Games ceremonies.
Josh Hutcherson's performance is less memorable here than any of those from the earlier editions. And the excellent Julianne Moore is again wasted in this role. It's hard to say exactly who or what's responsible for the decline with this series. Until Part 2, each new edition has been worse than its predecessor.
Could it be the director? Only the original (and best) "The Hunger Games" was directed by Gary Ross ("Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit"). Since then, Francis Lawrence has been at the helm. Perhaps it's the source material? Having never read the books, I can't say for sure.
But thankfully, it is all over now. And it's made a lot of people a boatload of money. It's even broken a few records, ranking at this point as the 19th highest grossing-film franchise of all time. It's also been a great showcase for the talents of a brilliant young actress. Let's breathe a sigh of relief, and continue to hope and pray that Hollywood will learn a lesson about when enough is enough, how much is too much, about when to quit when you're ahead.
o Dwight Strachan is the host/producer of " Morning Blend" on Guardian Radio. He is a television producer and writer, and an avid TV history and film buff. Email dwight@nasguard.com and follow him on twitter @morningblend969.
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