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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. 

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