The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

The last installment of the series is slightly better than the previous journey into the world of Panem simply because it is less talkative and manages to show action and throw in some attractions in the form of mutant attacks or clever traps for the rebel team throughout its long duration. Unfortunately, it is also the most convincing evidence of how poorly the world is designed and how (un)functional it actually is. Nothing really makes sense in the film. In the third installment, the ruling regime is in control and capable of delivering devastating blows to the rebels, so we quickly reach the "battle for Berlin" phase, the final agony, where regime supporters collapse one after another, without it being clear how this miraculous turnaround happened. Pro-regime forces lose energy and the remaining resources on nonsensically over-engineered traps intended for television cameras at a time when it no longer makes even the slightest sense. With a switched-off brain and a fondness for Jennifer Lawrence, however, Mockingjay can be tolerated. Overall impression: 40%. (20/05/2022)

Even though I left the movie theater disappointed because I still think the film lacked suitable progression and only aimed for effect with some scenes (this was very positively achieved in the underground scene, in its most dramatic part), I do think the socially critical themes are accentuated well here, and it's possible to ponder over the film. In the end, the romance ends a bit foolishly and without the necessary punch, but it's bearable. (19/11/2015)

It had to end with the cat. I understand that the filmmakers had to stay true to the book’s ending, but the impression that the film leaves is in conflict with more than just the transformation that Katniss underwent in the two preceding instalments (the mention of nightmares as an indication of PTSD is rather unconvincing in light of the kitschy stylisation of the scene). At the same time, it deadens the whole trilogy’s “emancipatory” potential by passing off the dumbest gender stereotype as the ideal state. Eastwood similarly cut the recent American Sniper off at the knees in its final minutes. Otherwise, Mockingjay – Part 2 is a generally satisfying effort to make a YA blockbuster that rejects certain genre conventions (the unspectacular beginning, the most epic action taking place long before the atypically intimate ending, the blurred line between good and evil) and even has something to say to adults (war propaganda, the demise of the old world, the overlaying of real memories with media representations). Like Mockingjay – Part 1, the film begins with an unusually dark and bombastic scene that sets the course of the narrative. Katniss must regain (literally and figuratively) the voice that she lost in the previous instalment. Through most of the film, however, her control over the situation is not as great as she imagines it to be or as is indicated by her heroic framing (at the centre in order to dominate the whole shot while towering over the other characters) and the frequent shots of her face filling the entire screen. Katniss’s journey of personal revenge is for the most part a propaganda spectacle directed from above for the masses, essentially another edition of the Hunger Games, with the ruins of the Capitol serving as the new arena. The illusion of freedom of choice and the fight for a just cause isn’t destroyed as thoroughly as the previous instalment promised, but the film is still a likably unique incentive to think about the mass production of pop-culture rebels who fail to grasp the idea that they are not fighting against the system, but within it. 75% (28/11/2015)

I got exactly what I’d wanted to get from the last installment of Hunger Games. And you can add to it the fact that it’s most likely the roughest episode. I felt almost sorry that the entire story is meant for teenagers, so I wouldn’t get to see torn-up bodies or guts spilled all over the battlefield. This installment was literally asking for it. But I must admit that it’s pretty much made up for by the ending. Nevertheless, same as with all the previous installments, this one also has a problem with length, meaning mainly the first twenty minutes. During those I got to experience once again how easily twenty minutes can turn into a really long time. These twenty minutes loaded with facts are followed by the last Hunger Game and with it a succession of thrilling scenes that I really enjoyed. So, in conclusion, I’d like to add that within these young adult stories, Hunger Games is the best. Great soundtrack, amazing actors and if some of the parts weren’t so pointlessly long, I would have no problem giving it a five-star review. (26/11/2015)

The Hunger Games has become another victim of the recently increasingly popular production strategy of splitting the final part into two episodes, hurting the final form of each of the films. Separately, the films look very disjointed, which is understandable. The last part of the book series was definitely not so dense to warrant two full feature films, and this is evident in the too many dead spots and unnecessarily drawn-out scenes (especially at the end). The second part in film form is basically just a murderous walk between the traps in the Capitol and the constant tension between Katniss, Peeta and Gale, but it quickly gets tiresome and by the end it gets quite boring. All in all, a decent and very average farewell to the Hunger Games series, which should have been better ended with one longer film, but what can I say, money talks. (01/02/2016)