The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay – Part 2. Rated M (mature themes, violence and horror sequence).
137 minutes. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny
Strong. Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.
It was never going to be easy. With the arrival of the game-changing The Hunger Games (2012), the epic contest between Collins’ reluctant heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and the menacing megalomaniac President Snow (Donald Sutherland) kicked off in spectacular fashion. Then came the sequel Catching Fire (2013), and then the first part of Collins’ third novel in the series, Mockingjay, released in 2014 as the first of a two-part finale.
It is impossible to deny that with each new addition, The Hunger Games has progressively lost all of its uniqueness. Instead, in this ultra-violent and haphazard Part 2, the once complex and resourceful Katniss is reduced to a blind-sided, vengeful warrior, fixated on assassinating Snow.
With Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin) and a handful of other bodies in tow for the astonishingly high body count, Katniss chooses a ridiculously conventional route to Snow’s mansion –exposing herself and her unfortunate comrades to any number of cruel (and obvious) life-ending dangers.
The essence of Part 2’s problems lies in the commercially-driven decision to split the third book into two films. It rapidly becomes obvious that, apart from the Peeta’s character development (beautifully played out by Hutcherson), there is neither enough interesting story developments nor originality to guarantee it will survive, dramatically, as a stand-alone film.
Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer), has directed all but the first film in the series. And as the sun sets over the final scene, it is difficult not to imagine that he might be feeling as though he’s arrived a little too late at what had been a fantastic party, only to discover that there’s only a cold sausage roll left.
And no more beer.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
It was never going to be easy. With the arrival of the game-changing The Hunger Games (2012), the epic contest between Collins’ reluctant heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and the menacing megalomaniac President Snow (Donald Sutherland) kicked off in spectacular fashion. Then came the sequel Catching Fire (2013), and then the first part of Collins’ third novel in the series, Mockingjay, released in 2014 as the first of a two-part finale.
It is impossible to deny that with each new addition, The Hunger Games has progressively lost all of its uniqueness. Instead, in this ultra-violent and haphazard Part 2, the once complex and resourceful Katniss is reduced to a blind-sided, vengeful warrior, fixated on assassinating Snow.
With Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin) and a handful of other bodies in tow for the astonishingly high body count, Katniss chooses a ridiculously conventional route to Snow’s mansion –exposing herself and her unfortunate comrades to any number of cruel (and obvious) life-ending dangers.
The essence of Part 2’s problems lies in the commercially-driven decision to split the third book into two films. It rapidly becomes obvious that, apart from the Peeta’s character development (beautifully played out by Hutcherson), there is neither enough interesting story developments nor originality to guarantee it will survive, dramatically, as a stand-alone film.
Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer), has directed all but the first film in the series. And as the sun sets over the final scene, it is difficult not to imagine that he might be feeling as though he’s arrived a little too late at what had been a fantastic party, only to discover that there’s only a cold sausage roll left.
And no more beer.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
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