‘Mockingjay: Part Two’ Hits The Bullseye

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two” is the conclusion of the Hunger Games film franchise based on the young adult book series by Suzanne Collins. This installment of the series provided less action and more substance than any of the previous films.

This film picked up where the previous left off. Our protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, must overcome her brainwashed love interest Peta Mellark and end the reign of the capitol by completing her mission to assassinate President Snow.

Two problems that the past films had was introducing too many characters that had almost no impact on the main story and hamming up a bland romance angle between characters that was very reminiscent of the “Twilight” franchise.

“Mockingjay: Part Two” fixed these problems by keeping the focus on Everdeen and Mellark whom were wonderfully played by Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.

Lawrence’s portrayal of Everdeen was one of the best performances I’ve seen in a long time. She really captured the emotional changes and mental conflicts of the character.

Hutcherson was given more dialogue and different ranges to do. This helped established more engaging chemistry between himself and Lawrence that felt less forced.

Teen angst was also less present. Lawrence portrayed an emotionless, mentally broken Everdeen as she goes through war and holds the responsibility of being the face of the rebellion.

The supporting cast served the plot well and performed just as impressive as the main protagonists with Donald Sutherland finally becoming more unhinged as the antagonist President Snow.

Important characters from earlier films were almost completely left out until the end. Woody Harrelson and Julianne Moore’s performances felt unengaged as a result of such small screen time.

The films action was well-done, but there was less of it and more tension.

Also, much of the film was less keen on exploring the post-apocalyptic world that it established.

Escalation played a big part as the story reached the second half but too much exposition and foreshadowing made the conclusion very predictable.

Aside from the obvious twists, the ending provided a complete and memorable payoff.

Great performances and a more mature plot made this film less of a pandering spectacle to fans of the book and more of a film for all audiences to engage in.