Naked Viewer
RELEASED 2015 RUNTIME 137 MIN LANGUAGE ENGLISH DIRECTION FRANCIS LAWRENCE SCREENPLAY PETER CRAIG, DANNY STRONG STARRING JENNIFER LAWRENCE, JOSH HUTCHERSON, LIAM HEMSWORTH, WOODY HARRELSON, ELIZABETH BANKS, JULIANNE MOORE, PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, JEFFREY WRIGHT, STANLEY TUCCI, DONALD SUTHERLAND MUSIC JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
PREMISE
Mocking Jay Part 2 is the direct continuation of Part 1 and concludes the 3rd film of the Hunger Games saga, as well as the complete trilogy.
STRUCTURE
Basically, this film is the payoff we have been denied by the previous film. If you remember, it ended on a huge cliff hangar. This movie is basically the 3rd act of the 3rd film.
Needless to say that it throws you into the plot without an introduction. My suggestion, watch it directly after you have watched part 1. It’s one movie.
But this review is only about part 2. So, how was it?
PACING
I guess it’s fine as a standalone film. The thing that bothered me the most is the first hour of the film. It drags extremely! Not much is going on, just bunch of talking and plotting. you could have easily condensed it to about 50% and it would have kept a much better pace.
However it picks up in the middle and comes up with some really cool sequences. You have some horror elements during one of the bigger action sequences and some weird creature design that doesn’t get explained, but looks cool. Also, the movie has some balls! A scene involving bombs was pretty shocking to me. I was always praising the serious tone about this franchise and again, it doesn’t disappoint.
WRAP UP
Love the twist during the movie + the ending in general. It takes its time to wrap things up and reminds maybe a liiiiiiitle bit of Lord Of The Rings. It’s of course not as an excessive ending, but I like when a director let’s it sink in that we have gotten to the end after such a long journey and need to settle down and breathe it in. Everything concludes nicely with all the characters finding a place of rest.
ONE MORE THING…
Speaking about characters. Did you ever notice that Katnis constantly ends up in the hospital? I swear, but over the entirety of Mocking Jay parts 1 + 2 she is being hospitalized like 4 times. Almost feels like a running gag, doesn’t it? Anyhow, just something that jumped at me.
CONCLUSION
Overall it’s an ok film. Remember, I judge it upon its own merits, meaning, as a standalone film. I don’t like when stories gets dragged out unnecessarily. I will always despise that practice. But even as half of a piece it’s still a fun time, if you enjoy the franchise. It has great tone and wraps everything up nicely.