Fans who were satisfied with “Part 1” likely will be even happier with “Part 2”. Except that Mockingjay – Part 2 isn’t that movie. Thus, she decides to take matters into her own hands and leads a group of rebels to face off President Snow (Donald Sutherland). And Effie (Elizabeth Banks) shrugs off District 13’s standard gray uniforms for a few quick bursts of opulence, the only real glimmers of light in a cold, bleak film. But what’s most compelling about this final chapter isn’t the moralizing of our current affairs, rather reflecting on the growth and changes of Katniss the protagonist – as fluently realized by Lawrence – from scared and scarred Hunger Games participant to rebel icon and now unwilling pawn in a larger political game. He uses the Capitol’s gamemakers to set traps through the city and essentially turn it into the “76th Hunger Games”, as Finnick (Sam Claflin) puts it. However, regaining their down-to-earth identities through camaraderie and friendship with others against the tyranny of the Capitol, including new members like Cressida (Natalie Dormer) and Boggs (Mahershala Ali), makes their cause even more worthwhile. The maniacal yet even-tempered Snow is a smug villain for the ages, and Sutherland’s performance is arguably the most under-appreciated aspect to the series’ success.
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Who winds up getting it in the end is supposed to be a twist.
Continuing with Friday’s official opening of its much-anticipated finale “Mockingjay – Part 2“, the series is ranked according to most math to be among the top 20 grossing movie franchises of all time – which is a bit misleading: “Hunger Games” has only been around for four movies and three years; “James Bond” has been around for 25 movies and 50 years.
And lastly, Lawrence stopped by The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where she wore a patently absurd getup for a segment called “Come Dance with Us!”. Playing Katniss has turned her into the world’s most famous actress.
Meanwhile, Jen recently admitted she got “really, really drunk” to film her very first sex scene with Chris Pratt in new movie Passengers. And a key scene between Katniss and Coin’s aide-de-camp Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) couldn’t take place because the actor died prior to filming it; instead, another character now reads a letter from Plutarch.
Mockingjay – Part 2 resonates through Katniss’s speeches as her words deliver a ray of light in the dark future these characters are facing. In the first part of the “Mockingjay” film, Katniss and her allies began the assault on the Capitol and President Snow, hoping to also save Peeta, who had been captured at the end of “Catching Fire”, and brainwashed by the Capitol to serve as a tool of its propaganda arms. Even when Katniss has a moment later to react to them, they lack the emotional heft that they deserve. Similarly ill-executed is the movie’s insistence on reminding the audience that there is a love triangle.
The final installment of the multi-million dollar franchise, “Mockingjay Part 2”, comes to a close this weekend and though we will have our popcorn and tears ready, preparing for its last theatrical debut is a little depressing. Much of this has to do with Suzanne Collins’ novels.
Just as Lawrence has become a reluctant megastar off-screen, Katniss has hesitantly adopted her power and influence over the course of the films.
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It is very uncommon for a movie marketing team to encounter problems by putting the famous star of the film on a poster.
