I
finally had a chance to see the final The
Hunger Games installment. As a movie
based on half of a book, I don’t think it weathers the split quite as well as
Part 1, but it still delivers strong acting, rootable characters, and some terrific
moments. (As with anything Hunger Games-related, I can’t talk about
this movie without bringing up big twists from the previous films.)
In
oh-so-many ways, the original book could have the alternate title How Life Keeps Crapping on Katniss Everdeen,
and that holds true here. Her friend,
ally, and possible lover Peeta has been rescued from the Capitol as a ghost of
himself – after the hallucinogenic mental conditioning he received during his
torture there, he’s convinced that Katniss is a monstrous enemy who has to be
stopped at all costs. In light of this
most recent devastating loss, Katniss decides that she’s done being just the
telegenic face of the rebellion. She
clashes with her politically-savvy but potentially-shady handlers and makes her
own plans to join the fight in earnest.
Maybe
it’s just because of how often the Star
Wars showing in the next theater nearly drowned out Mockingjay’s dialogue for me (seriously, what’s up with that?), but
I was struck by how quiet so much of this movie is. That’s not to say there’s no action – there
is, and some of it is bang-up intense – but there’s a far greater emphasis on
everything from midnight-watch heart-to-hearts to political tête-à-têtes. I’m mixed on this. I like most of the interpersonal aspects of
the story, and a number of these scenes are golden. At the same time, the love triangle gets too
much face time for my liking, and there are definitely moments where the film
drags and I was itching for some action.
In
general, the movie feels true to the book.
As always, things get left out, but I feel like pretty much everything
essential got covered. Although the
majority of the supporting characters have pretty minor roles, nearly everyone
in the cast makes the most of them.
Donald Sutherland and Elizabeth Banks are absolute gifts to the
franchise as President Snow and Effie, Elden Hanson (Foggy!) kills it without
saying a word as Pollux, and I’m in platonic love with Natalie Dormer’s
Cressida. Jena Malone/Johanna doesn’t
get much to do, but every one of her scenes is gold, and while, overall, I’m a
little underwhelmed by Finnick’s (in-my-opinion) flatter characterization in
the films versus the book, Sam Claflin makes his screentime count. Additional shout-out to Mahershala Ali as
Boggs – he brings so much presence to a role that could’ve easily gotten lost
in the shuffle of the large cast. My
only supporting-cast gripe is, why would you cast the wonderful Gwendoline
Christie (Brienne from Game of Thrones)
and only use her in one scene?
Nothing
really new to say about Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. I love Lawrence, and I adore Katniss, and
this movie continues to aptly demonstrate why.
However, I want to take a moment to give props to Josh Hutcherson. I’m a bit lukewarm on his Peeta (more the
writing than anything else, I think,) but he’s fantastically effective in his
portrayal of Peeta’s “hijacked” mental state.
Superb job; Part 1 gave me hope that he’d be excellent here, and he
delivers on all fronts.
Warnings
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