Skip to main content

Review: "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2"

Image via Collider.com

Last year, when Mockingjay Part 1 came out and a lot of people criticized it, I defended it. It was a very good movie despite its flaws. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Part 2. This has to be one of the least satisfying endings to a series that I have seen in a very long time, which is a shame considering how much I enjoyed the first three films. Below, I will explain everything that I liked and disliked about this movie.

**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**

There is a lot wrong with this movie, however, I will begin by pointing out a few positives. First of all, the performances were great as always. Regardless of what one may think about the movie as a whole, it is hard to deny that these actors all have done a fantastic job of really transforming themselves into their respective roles. And second, there is an incredibly well-done action sequence between Katniss & company and the mutts that takes place in the sewers which ends up being the best five minutes of the movie.

One of the main issues I had with this movie was how lazily the story was told throughout the entirety of the film. At the start of the film, the rebellion is making a huge deal out of taking over District 2 and right when it seems like we are about to jump into this huge action scene, we cut to a shot of Katniss and Gale as they watch in the distance. A couple of explosions later and District 2 is theirs. But as if that wasn't enough, the same thing happens with the final battle against the Capitol. The rebellion finally reaches the gates of the Capitol and this huge battle that we have been waiting years for is about to start, but then Katniss is knocked out by an explosion and when she wakes up we find out that the battle is over. It is so incredibly anti-climactic that it is hard to not walk away from this movie with a bad taste in your mouth.

Mockingjay, Part 2 was also just very dull and redundant. It constantly felt like they were trying to make it seem as if there was a lot happening when there really wasn't and the serious lack of action didn't help their case. The movie was painfully predictable to the point where there was zero emotional reaction to any of the "emotional"parts. Francis Lawrence, who directed this movie, just didn't do a good job when it came to masking the deaths of any of the characters and, therefore, you are never surprised when someone like Prim dies.

The ending also feels totally unsatisfying and very dragged out. Whenever you think the movie is over, another scene pops up. This happens about 3 or 4 times and it was very annoying. Lastly, I do think that a lot of the problems that Mockingjay, Part 2 ran into stem from the fact that this movie was split into two. I strongly believe that Mockingjay could have been beautifully told in 1 movie and we would have been left without a lot of the boring fluff that filled the majority of Part 2. Overall, this was probably one of the worst and probably the most disappointing movie of the year for me. I give it a 5/10, and that might be more than it deserves. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Classic Movie Monday: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" & "Three Days of the Condor"

Great films often borrow elements from other great films. Captain America: The Winter Soldier borrowed from Three Days of the Condor and in doing so, it revolutionized the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For the first time ever, they proved that the movies in the MCU could tackle different genres. For this film, they went in the direction of 1970s political thrillers. The Winter Soldier sees Steve Rogers as a fugitive running from the very people he thought were the good guys, people he served under because he thought they were doing the right thing. As he is being hunted down, Captain America must uncover the truth behind those who are after him.  Leading the charge against Cap is none other than Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. The fact that it is Redford who is in the role of Alexander Pierce is important because in 1975, Redford starred in the film Three Days of the Condor . This film sees Redford as Joe Turner, a CIA code breaker who walks into his office to find the entire

Film Review: "A Wrinkle in Time"

                  Director Ava Duvernay is back, this time helming Disney’s live-action adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s book, A Wrinkle in Time .The famed director made history with this film when she became the first female African-American director to helm a live-action film with a budget of over $100 million and only the third female director overall to achieve that budget. The film boasts an impressive cast that includes Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine and is led by Storm Reid. The film starts off with a short scene in which a young Meg (Reid) is spending time with her dad, Dr. Alex Murry (Pine). The film then jumps ahead to the present day where the four-year anniversary of Dr. Murry’s mysterious disappearance approaches. The first act moves quickly and it hastily portrays Meg as an outkast struggling to understand why her father left her family. Her 6-year-old genius brother (Deric McCabe) doesn’t help matters, as he can be a lot to handle for

Film Review: "Wonder Wheel"

Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple and Jim Belushi star in Woody Allen's new drama,   Wonder Wheel . The film takes place in 1950s Coney Island and centers around Ginny (Winslet), a waitress that is unhappily married to Humpty, a carousel operator (Belushi). When Ginny falls for a young lifeguard (Timberlake), she begins to find happiness again. When Humpty's estranged daughter shows up and also vies for Mickey's attention, however, Ginny's life begins to unravel. At this moment, I'd like to point out that I've never seen a Woody Allen movie that I actually liked. Movies like   Annie Hall ,   Sleepers  and   Play It Again, Sam  are, in my opinion, absolutely dreadful. Needless to say that going into   Wonder Wheel,  my expectations were about as low as they possibly could have been. For the most part, I was correct in expecting a dull film, but that's not to say that there weren't any redeemable qualities in it. The best part about  Won