‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2’ Review

 

The finale of the most popular current Young Adult series goes out with more of a fizzle than a bang. Whilst this is more enjoyable than Part 1, it never feels like the satisfying climax of a three-film build up.

The scale of what is seemingly at stake may repeatedly come across in the characters’ dialogue, but that tension and urgency never truly translates to the film’s atmosphere. The film feels disjointed most of the time as the characters encounter a series of events that are quickly resolved, which deflates any tension that has been built up.

The acting is solid, if rarely varied, due to the film’s monotonous pace and atmosphere. Due to the the consistently solemn tone, at times the events that occur feel fairly one-note, giving the actors little to work with in terms of variance. However, it is nice to see Phillip Seymour-Hoffman in his final role, and a little heart-wrenching at points in the film that were clearly rewritten as a result of his death.

The film’s faithfulness to the book causes it to fall into the same plot pitfalls, including the quick resolution of the film’s main battle, as well as including an incident, which, retrospectively, causes all of Katniss’ endeavours over the series to seem, in effect, meaningless.

However, bursts of the film provide energetic action, for example the particularly well-choreographed sewer chase succeeds in building up the tension and then delivering a thrilling action sequence. The film also succeeds in tying up the loose ends of the franchise, and leaving the audience with a fairly solid, but not necessarily emotionally satisfying, resolution (the final scene is perhaps too cheesy).

Overall, this finale may not equal the quality of the franchise finales that have preceded it (Breaking Dawn not included), but it provides a sporadically entertaining couple of hours that provides a solid resolution to the Hunger Games saga.