REVIEW: ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’ Is Feast or Famine

The action was bigger and the games were more deadly, but overall ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’ was just okay.

While more entertaining than the other sequels, ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’ fails to fully give fans what they crave for a finale. Although true to the books, the film was lacking ample intensity moving into the 3rd act to give proper closure to the series. Overall ‘Mockingjay – Part 2’ is action packed, but anticlimactic at best.

Cinematics (Acting, Cinematography, etc.) – 3

Growing weary of the politics between the Coin and Snow, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is now hellbent on pursuing a new plan of her own design. As always, screen veteran Donald Sutherland, brings the creep factor with his nefarious and incorrigible President Snow.  Then there is Katniss’ tandem love interests – Peeta (Josh Hutchinson), who since the last film has truly seen Katniss in a whole NEW light, and of course Gale (Liam Hemsworth) who is well… Gale. I am not sure just how effective they culminated the love triangle between the three, but what I will say is that it was certainly devoid of any emotion. With that said, Jennifer Lawrence delivers some of the best performances of Katnis only to be juxtaposed to some of the most forced and uninspired Katnis moments in the series. A silver lining (pun intended) perhaps was the appearance of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It was a treat getting to see the missed talent grace the big-screen once more, although it seems as though his passing made for some unusual adjustments to the script.

So the fourth and final installment in the highly followed ‘The Hunger Games’ series has finally hit the big screen. The problem – while action packed, the film was far too convoluted to satiate the audience’s appetite. Add a lagging third act and it makes for a lackluster franchise topper.

While the film is decent as a whole, ‘Mockingjay Part 2’ fell victim to lulls in activity transitioning into the 3rd act. As touched upon in FilmFad’s review of ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,’ The decision to split the book into two films left both presentations feeling sparsely populated and lacking. Although I would say this has been the most entertaining installment since the original ‘Hunger Games’, ‘Mockingjay – Part 2’ fails to capture the intensity of thrills and excitement seen in the first film.

On the other hand, fans of the books should be pleased as the film stays true to the source material, culminating much in the same way. The major issue is that although true to the books, the film just is outright boring at times. The dialogue is sparse and clunky, not giving the cast ample room to emotionally connect with eachother – let alone the audience.

Entertainment Value – 3.5

Credit must be given where it’s due, and relative to the other ‘Hunger Games’ sequels, Mockingjay Part 2 has to be the most thrilling of the bunch. What Part 1 left the audience craving Part 2 served up in a heaping abundance. While the effects were visually entrancing and the games were deadlier, the over abundance of certain elements detracted from its overall shock value.

Re-Watchability – 2.5

While I’m not rushing back to theaters to re-watch the movie, ‘Mockingjay Part 2’ cooks up enough heroics, muts, traps, peacekeepers and explosions to merit a gander when it releases on Blu-Ray. If you are a fan of the series, then this will undoubtably give closure to your Hungry collection.

Watch the official trailer for ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’ below.