Mockingjay Part 2 Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is the second part of the film adaptation of Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy. This film follows essentially the same plot as the first part, Katniss is trying to take down President Snow, while also trying to retain her relationship(?) with Peeta. The film once again stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin, and Stanley Tucci.

Now, as far as the acting in this film goes, it's okay, nothing special. The supporting cast is all pretty good, Woody Harrelson and Donald Sutherland as per usual being the two major standouts. Peeta is a more complex character this time around, which was nice to see, and Josh Hutcherson pulls it off pretty well. However, the rest of the cast could be mostly summed up with "they're okay". Nobody in the film is really bad, but only a couple actors bring much talent either. And Stanley Tuccis brilliant performance as Caesar Flickerman only appears for one scene, which is a definite disappointment.

A lot of people have been complaining about the fact that Mockingjay was split into two parts, but to be honest, I don't mind it here. It meant that some scenes dragged on longer than others, sure, but it also made for an overall more focused and entertaining film. However, that focus and entertainment isn't without it's backdraws, and like I said, some scenes last longer than they need to. The writers extend the dialogue a little too long just to keep a scene going, and it doesn't always work. However, it makes up for this by also extending the action scenes, which made the movie entertaining as an action film whenever it needed to be an action film.

Much like the rest of the films in this series - the one exception being Catching Fire, the best of the four films - this film is incredibly dependant on the source material. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, a film needs to be able to stand on its own from the books, and be enjoyable regardless of whether or not someone's read the source material. And the major issue I felt this entire film series has suffered from is the fact that a lot of the context for certain scenes and characters isn't truly given to the audience. Most of them had read the books, so it mostly goes unnoticed, but in my opinion I think it's pretty lazy writing. In a lot of these scenes, more so in this film than the other three, I was more depending on what I remembered from the books than from the earlier movies, which is a pretty big issue.

Final Rating
Overall, Mockingjay Part 2 isn't the best film in the series, but it's also certainly not the worse one. Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, and surprisingly Josh Hutcherson are all pretty good in this movie. Some of the more dialogue heavy moments can drag on longer than they need to, but the film makes up for it with some pretty entertaining action scenes. As far as the story goes, if you've read the books, it shouldn't bother - that being said, the fact that I have to say that is in itself a problem. If you're looking for a decent action movie, then this is certainly that.