"Tonight, turn your weapons...to the Capitol!"
With the rebellion increasing, the Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is ready to make her move to take out President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Meanwhile, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is recovering from a brainwashing, and still has thoughts of killing Katniss. President Coin (Julianne Moore) sends in Katniss, Peeta (restrained by handcuffs) and other rebels to infiltrate the Capitol and take over. Will Panem finally be free from the Capitol's tyranny?
Mockingjay is once again centered around Lawrence. She's again, sincere, emotionally raw and equal parts tough-minded and tender in this final installment. Let's face it, Lawrence wouldn't be where she is today without this movie series. And Katniss will likely take her place alongside Harry Potter and Captain Sparrow as one of the 21st century's most memorable characters. The rest of the cast is solid also, with Sutherland providing an appropriately sinister and sarcastic tone as Snow, and Moore proving to be especially interesting and enthusiastic as Coin. Hutcherson's given much more to do here than the last movie, and that allows him to be more sincere and believable.
Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, and Liam Hemsworth are all given a few solid moments to work with. Part II is noteworthy for the final film appearance of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who is given an appropriate, somewhat-emotional send-off (one particular scene late in the film subtly addresses his passing before filming completed). On the other hand, Willow Shields isn't given a lot to do here as Primrose (due to, however, story reasons I won't discuss).
The visual effects are very solid, though thankfully, they aren't overdone. The cinematography, production design, and costume design are all solid. James Newton Howard's music score is great, with subtle and strong moments. The twist toward the end of the film (based on the twist in the story) is well-executed, with an exciting and dramatic flair.
On the downside, like Part I to a degree, Part II is drawn-out too long at times. Especially towards the beginning, the movie does get just a little bit boring. It might would have worked better if they shaved off about 20 minutes of screentime. The drawn-out parts do work for the franchise's strong character development at times, but its overdone. Also, the film lacks a sense of humor. It would have been nice to have the film's overall grim and sad tone to have that balanced out by some humor.
The Hunger Games has been interesting and hard-to-watch, controversial and culture-bashing. It's one of the most headline-making movie franchises that has ever come to the big screen. And while I wasn't very interested at the beginning, that changed as we headed into the series' final stretch. And even though I haven't read the books, the movies still work as depth-filled pieces of entertainment.
The end of this series then, is both appropriately exciting and thrilling. But at the same time, it's also a fairly bleak and sad experience. Its' well-done for sure, but the story certainly doesn't follow the typical happy ending route. Also, I wonder why Lionsgate decided to break up the last book of the series into two movies. Because the overall pacing for both films is badly affected by this decision.
Part II is too long (it could have easily been 90 minutes without several talky scenes). In this case, I found Part I to be a better film. It's a little more cohesive and a little more enjoyable (even if it was more of a political propaganda thriller). Now Part I also had the pacing problem to a degree, but at least it had a few memorable moments to try to balance it out (including the brief quasi-musical anthem, "The Hanging Tree"). Then again, Part II thankfully kicks things into thrilling high-gear once the invasion of the capitol begins.
In the end, Part II is thoughtfully-directed in a way that should easily please fans of the source material. For casual moviegoers not familiar with the books, while its not nearly enough to make any Top 10 lists for 2015, its still a suitably-exciting and strongly-acted grand finale.
Score: 7.3/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: None.
Adult Content: Three kisses. Two people lie in bed together (but not in a sexual way).
Violence: Scary and intense at times. President Snow has a lot of traps laid for Katniss and co. Guns shoot out of the wall, black tar avalanches after kids. Earthquakes are caused, bombs explode, etc. A few rebels are killed in the process (one is obscurely stretched out by a black chain). Some of this is very loud and shocking. The scariest scene is in the sewers when a bunch of eye-less, zombie-like mutts come after Katniss and co, snapping and apparently killing two others. A "nightlock" pill is given to the rebels in case they are captured (otherwise known as suicide). A bomb is set off on women and children, and then another one is set off on the nurses/FBI crew that goes after them. Talk of death and murder. Katniss shoots an arrow and kills someone (with relatively little bloodshed). Someone is poisoned. Someone coughs up blood. Katniss is shot and nearly killed twice (we see bruises both times). Peeta tries to do her in early on.
Drugs/Alcohol: Morphine is used in hospitals, and a fellow tribute named Joanna tries to steal some.
Other: Katniss lies once. Characters use manipulation to get their way.
