The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 [2015] is a continuation of The Hunger Games series in which two people from each district of Panem must compete for their life. Leading up to this film, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), has won twice for her district. She has lost many friends and even family along the way, but now Katniss is the leader of the rebellion against President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The girl on fire, the symbol of hope, the Mockingjay, Katniss must lead an army to assassinate the President to bring peace back to Panem and restore fallen districts.
Katniss’ Development. The city of Panem is in a civil war and it has fallen on Katniss to risk her life to assassinate President Snow. Along with Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin), and many others, Katniss makes her way from District 13 to the Capitol. Falling into several traps, Katniss and her crew persevere. It is those moments that show how far Katniss is willing to go to exact revenge on her nemesis. No longer is she the poor, underprivileged teen from District 12 just trying to survive. Now she has become a staple of hope and the future of many lays on her shoulders.
An Improvement from Part 1. Acting on impulse has always been Katniss’ signature trait, whether it be threatening to commit suicide, or blowing up an arena. In Mockingjay – Part 1 the only ‘big’ thing Katniss did was accept the role of becoming the Mockingjay – something she was essentially thrust into. There were no intense action scenes, no unexpected plot twists, and no color. Mockingjay – Part 2 thankfully provides more. The film resists typical blockbuster conventions by confronting the reality of death and addressing mental illnesses through Katniss’ suffering of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, in a way most other films would not attempt. Director Francis Lawrence also provides a nail-biting chase through a sewer system that is bound to have you on the edge of your seat. While the imagery in this film provides more color than its first half, Part 2 unfolds in darkness and delivers more brutality. However, after all this effort to bring this series to a happy endnote, this one-book-turned-four-hour-movie has a bleak and anti-climactic ending.
Despite some noticeable improvement from its first half,
Mockingjay – Part 2 still lacks something for its grand finale.
Watch The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 on iTunes