Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Sam Clafin, with Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Donald Sutherland Directed by Francis Lawrence One year later and we get the second half of the Mockingjay story with no more mucking about in the gloomy corridors of District 13. This is essentially a War Movie as Katniss decides to push for action on her own. While there are some merits in splitting the final book into two movies here, unlike in some other cases or rather just one waste of time that shall remain nameless, the Mockingjay movies have their individual problems. Despite that, the movies are held together with some very solid performances from the cast led by the ever excellent Jennifer Lawrence. Screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong distilled Suzanne Collins’ book wonderfully for the screen giving the main stars some wonderful lines, particularly for Josh Hutcherson in this round as Peeta struggles with his version of PTSD while being out in the war zone, even recalling lines from the first movie. While the trailers dropped the line hinting that this final assault would be considered the 76th Hunger Games, with the capitol itself being the booby-trapped arena, the movie doesn’t treat it as such, instead reflecting the trek towards President Snow’s mansion more like a squad of soldiers making their way through a war zone with potential IEDs around every corner or down some alleyway, albeit with the occasional death trap instead of simple bombs. While we had the world fleshed out in the previous movies, the spark of rebellion leading to this, Mockingjay Part II takes into account some of the tactics used in war and the ultimate cost it brings about, as well as the politicking that goes on behind the scenes. Director Francis Lawrence continues with his vision for the series by giving the movie a very grounded sense of place while defying certain tropes one might expect from these movies based on YA novels. The number of characters surrounding Katniss have been greatly reduced from the novel as well, as the focus of the story here is kept to a singular mission once Katniss decide to act on her own instincts rather than take orders from someone else. As mentioned, the cast do stellar work across the board, some having lived with these characters the last few years. Naturally, the absence of Philip Seymour Hoffman is noted, even with a few solid scenes at the beginning of the movie. The combination of the two, action set-pieces and performances from established stars, create some problems. Characters we’ve enjoyed in the past are cast aside or left behind in the wake of the plot line. Stanley Tucci’s preening showman gets one sombre scene to remind us he was around before. Robert Knepper pops up for one brief cameo. Elizabeth Banks’ Effie finally gets her fancy back, and what the heck was that with Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch? Where did that come from? Donald Sutherland revels with a slip from menacing to over-the-top camp villain. And then there are the “mutts” in the sewers. Still, the good outweigh the bad. The emotions hit the marks as needed. The action set-pieces are satisfactory and the pacing works well enough with the story. As a conclusion to the overall series, it delivers where it counts, even if the epilogue is a little drawn out, at least, not to the extent of say, The Lord of The Rings. While The Hunger Games worked well as a movie, the three sequels feel very much like an extended TV series meant to be consumed as a whole or a trilogy on its own. Given the nature of TV series these days and the habit of binge-watching, it’s not a bad thing. Rating: ***1/2 / 5 Please support by buying or recommending to others. Thank you. - b
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