Film Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

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.

Film Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Rated M (mature themes and violence). 123 minutes. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong. Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.

Verdict: A bloated outing for the first of the two-part cinematic climax to The Hunger Games.

Beginning where The Hunger Games: Catching Fire left us, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has been relocated to District 13, a rebel-held underground fortress, to recover from the Games. It is in District 13 that the rebellion against The Capitol is overseen by President Coin (Julianne Moore) and Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, to whom the film is dedicated).

Knowing Katniss is capable of inspiring people to rise up against The Capitol’s President Snow (Donald Sutherland), Coin invites her to assume the title of ‘Mockingjay’, a symbol of the rebellion. Once she witnesses the extent of the destruction inflicted on the Districts, Katniss agrees to take on the responsibility, but only if the brain-washed Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who Snow is using a weapon to destroy Katniss' influence over the rebels, is rescued from The Capitol and reunited with her.

Whether it is because the final book in the trilogy is being turned into two films (a trend that began with The Hobbit, then the Harry Potter and Twilight films), or that there are not actually any sequences involving the infamous Games, Mockingjay – Part 1 is a mostly forgettable affair. While it ramps up the tension and the action in the second half, much of the first half ambles along in a bloated, self-satisfied manner that is completely at odds with its cinematic pedigree.

Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Water for Elephants, I Am Legend, Constantine) and the always excellent Jennifer Lawrence work wonders with the material’s limited range. And while it might be long time to have waited, the final sequences between Peeta and Katniss are extraordinarily powerful, with Hutcherson bringing real acting clout to the screen for the first, and possibly only, time in the entire movie.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past. Rated M (science fiction themes, violence and infrequent coarse language). 131 minutes. Directed by Bryan Singer. Screenplay by Simon Kinberg.

Verdict: A hypnotic return to form for the X-Men series.

Boasting ambitious storytelling on an epic scale, matched with superb visual effects and an outstanding ensemble of actors all at the top of their game, this instalment of the X-Man franchise is an often brilliant, and always engrossing, addition to the big screen adventures of Marvel’s X-Men.

Faced with extinction at the hands of an undefeatable foe known as Sentinels, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is sent back to the time these formidable creatures were invented by Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). At this juncture, Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) had shot and killed Trask, which brought about the rise of the Sentinels who were created to exterminate the mutants in revenge for his murder. Charged with altering to course of history, Wolverine must reunite the young Charles (James McAvoy) with the younger Erik (Michael Fassbender) to ensure that Mystique doesn’t make the same mistake again.

Kinberg’s (Sherlock Holmes, X-Men: The Last Stand) screenplay manages to tell what might have been a collision of plots, subplots and character-based exposition extraordinarily well – to the point where even those who haven’t caught up with this successful series won’t be left wondering what on earth is going on. There are even some great laughs, particularly when Quicksilver (Evan Peters), is recruited to help Erik escape from a maximum security prison, deep within the Pentagon.

Singer (X-Men, X-Men 2, Superman Returns) and frequent collaborator, cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, capture every moment of the story with supreme confidence. Unusually for this genre (and this series in particular), there is never a moment where it threatens to take itself far too seriously. Instead, X-Men: Days of Future Past plays out at a furious pace from the first frame, and the emotionally-charged awareness of all that is at stake makes for an extremely rewarding, big screen experience.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: American Hustle

American Hustle. Rated M (frequent coarse language). 138 minutes. Directed by David O. Russell. Written by David O. Russell and Eric Singer.

Verdict: A fashionable account of a very ordinary tale.

The trust gained as a result of successful collaboration can create memorable screen outings – films that function on an entirely different level, purely because the artists involved understand each other’s creative processes in ways that those working together for the first time might not. The pairing of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart is just one classic example, where audiences flocked to watch them regardless of what they were doing.

Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings) obviously values the art of collaboration with his actors. In American Hustle, he is reunited with Christian Bale and Amy Adams (The Fighter) and Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook). And the dividends it pays are great – for Lawrence, in particular, whose performance in a secondary role as con-man Irving’s (Bale) disenchanted wife, is stunning. Lawrence is one of the most singularly interesting actors at work on film today, and if her Katniss Everdeen re-wrote the rules of engagement for onscreen heroines, then this performance reveals an extraordinary, big-hearted versatility.

The only problem is that the story about Irving and his partner in business and romance Sydney Prosser (Adams) falling for an FBI sting against a politician Carmine Polito (a never entirely comfortable Jeremy Renner) – led by rogue agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper being zany again) – just doesn’t have the legs to last its long running time. Sydney-born and NIDA-trained costume designer Michael Wilkinson contributes a magnificent array of costumes that not only perfectly encapsulate the late 1970s/early 1980s era in which the film is set, but are more often than not the most memorable onscreen element. And when you are not marvelling at how great everyone looks and Lawrence’s performance, there’s the soundtrack, which boasts a songbook of greatest hits from the era.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Rated M (mature themes and violence). 146 minutes. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Written by Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn.

Verdict: Treading water with Katniss and clan suffers from second-of-three books syndrome.

Beginning where The Hunger Games (2012) left us, our victorious ‘tributes’ Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peter (Josh Hutcherson) are paraded through the Districts at the behest of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in a public relations exercise. As the poverty-stricken population become increasingly resentful of Katniss’s apparent capitulation to the Capital’s oppressive regime, Snow decides that to stamp out the murmurings of another uprising, Katniss must be eliminated.

With the help of a new game creator Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Snow announces that a Quarter Quell (a variation of The Hunger Games) will take place, with the contestants selected from the victors of past games. Realising she will have to compete against Peter again, Katniss makes a deal with her mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) that whatever happens, Peter must survive.

Returning to this epic second instalment is like being reunited with old friends and the friends of theirs you don’t especially like. It’s no-one’s fault – but rather the over-riding sense that any kind of follow-up to the extraordinary debut of this series (and Ms Lawrence in particular) was always going to be problematic.

Wisely, Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I Am Legend, Water for Elephants) who replaced the director of the first film Gary Ross (reportedly due to production schedule concerns), doesn’t mess with the formula and gives his stellar cast their heads. They reward him with outstanding performances of roles that fit them like gloves.

Where the problem lies (as it did with the Twilight series) is that Catching Fire is the second of three books – so its task is pad out the story while we wait for the killer climax. Unfortunately, we’re well into ‘how much longer has it got to go?’ territory by the time the Quarter Quell kicks off, and nothing at stake under the dome this time (spooky fog and cranky monkeys) comes close to the horror and ingenuity of all that was at stake in the first film. But if you don’t know (or guess) what’s coming, then the build to the sense of what the final film (which, again like Twilight, will be split into two servings) will offer, is tantalising. And Catching Fire will most certainly do for the time being.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook. Rated M (mature themes, coarse language, sexual references and violence). 122 minutes. Written and directed by David O Russell. Based on the novel by Matthew Quick.

Verdict: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Strictly Ballroom.

Hot on the heels of Flight’s compelling study of alcohol and drug dependency comes an equally difficult, but less successful, study of living with mental health issues. Russell’s respectful screenplay is, admirably, completely lacking in sensationalism. It is more concerned with how extraordinary circumstances can impact on the lives of ordinary people. But even ordinary people can rise to previously unscaleable heights to take on the challenges – perilously high stakes that are not in play in Silver Linings Playbook.

Film Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games. Rated M (mature themes and violence). 142 minutes. Directed by Gary Ross. Screenplay by Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray. Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.

Verdict: Exceptional story-telling in this cinematic game-changer.

It is impossible to recall a recent film as engrossing as this absorbing, complex, richly-layered piece of cinematic story-telling. Defining, precisely, what it is about The Hunger Games that makes it so entirely watchable, will be the subject of the many conversations about its many extraordinary qualities that are guaranteed to result from the first viewing. What is unarguable, however, is the extent to which its deeply-affecting and profound cultural impact is in the process of challenging the rules of cinematic engagement around the world.