Fans were elated when the Harry Potter series decided to split its final movie into two parts. But five years and many disappointments later, the “two-part finale” trend has greatly worn out its welcome.
Mockingjay – Part 2 starts right where Part 1 ended, with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) being attacked by her brainwashed love interest Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). This attack galvanizes Katniss and she leads the revolution to the Capital of Panem to topple President Snow’s (Sutherland) oppressive government for good.
Mockingjay – Part 2 is possibly the grimmest blockbuster in recent memory. It’d be commendable if that didn’t make the film feel like such a slog. The first hour is unbearably dull, but when Katniss and her crew storm the Capitol it doesn’t get more exciting. There is a tense sequence in the sewer but it’s not enough to overcome the tedium that dominates the rest of the film.
Jennifer Lawrence became a superstar because of her iconic performance in the first Hunger Games, but in Mockingjay – Part 2 she seems completely uninterested. Julianne Moore as President Coin is the only actor who doesn’t seem to be phoning it in, which is understandable because she’s also the only actor who gets compelling material. Coin is the leader of the revolution but her methods fall more in line with the dictatorship she’s fighting. It’s a fascinating story line that unfortunately doesn’t get enough exploration.
But the biggest problem with Mockingjay – Part 2 is that it’s too faithful to its source material. The final Hunger Games novel had plenty of flaws. But instead of fixing those flaws, the film painstakingly recreates them. The main battle in the Capit0l basically being another Hunger Games arena is a silly concept that should’ve been retooled. But the most important flaw is the considerable lack of agency for Katniss. This feels like a betrayal of not just the character but of what The Hunger Games series has meant for its female audience. It’s frustrating to see a character as strong and complex as Katniss be sidelined in her own story.
Mockingjay – Part 2 is bloated yet notably thin. With bored actors and bland set pieces, a franchise that started off on fire has clearly burned out.
