The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

I think my expectations from the ending of Hunger Games were too great and so I can’t give it full marks, although I didn’t leave the movie theater disappointed. I minded a bit that the movie lacked momentum, but it eventually comes. The second half had me on the edge of my seat and I enjoyed every minute of it. The only disappointment was that the ending of the movie doesn’t end with the wow I had expected. It was all quite predictable. All apart from the cute happy ending, which was to my taste and I didn’t expect it at all. Despite my review being slightly negative, I enjoyed the movie a lot and it was worth my while. And during the final credits you get such a pleasantly nostalgic feeling when you realize that this exceptional series is over. And it certainly was an exceptional series. After a long break, I came back to the series and went through it again nicely one episode after another and I have to say that it was completely different. The last episode really came from the heart and after I some thought, I raise my rating to full set of stars. The final episode deserves it. (28/11/2015)

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)

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%. (19/05/2022)

The final part of the book trilogy and the film tetralogy wasn’t all that different from the previous installment, so I got a huge dose of grandiose speechifying, and I wasn’t spared the inevitable clichés, melodrama, and the cat of course. What surprised me was the ending, though. I was expecting a postapocalyptic-fairytale finale, but the conclusion to the story was downright biblical. A man and a woman..... A pair of teenagers lie down in bed, tell each other they love each other, and wake up the next day as parents of two children, one of whom is obviously of Chinese descent. Mary with her immaculate conception can't match that. But back to the film. Once again, the filmmakers used tried and tested techniques to create a pompous CGI spectacle and a story whose logic is so flimsy that entire city blocks slip through its cracks. At the same time, they were unable to build up an atmosphere that would have any kind of effect on me, which is why I found the whole thing oddly lifeless to the point of boring. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters, and when some of the characters met their tragic fate, I didn't really feel anything. The film simply felt empty and unimpressive. I was just two hours of nothing. And to think how hard Donald Sutherland was trying... / Lesson learned: Are you fighting for great ideals? Prepare to be disappointed. (11/09/2022)

Even as I was awestruck watching how Danny Strong and Peter Craig adapted the dragging first half of my least favorite book into the best of the films, I knew that their final arrow, like Katniss, would hit the target perfectly. Fortunately, I was not mistaken, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 became my favorite Hunger Games adaptation in the most obvious way. It is mainly because of the brilliant gradation, which transitions from depressing dialogue and a gloomy atmosphere to intense battles, painful losses – and even more depressing dialogue. Two climax scenes (the sewer and the march to the palace) had me on the edge of my seat so much that I found myself holding my breath at times, despite knowing all the twists. And that's exactly what Mockingjay is about. It's about an ending that fulfills the most tragically imaginable irony, about heroes who are irreversibly marked and worth rooting for until the very last second. But first and foremost, Hunger Games is the story of a Girl on Fire, whose destiny and determination can be a metaphor, a prototype, a warning, and everything else imaginable. Even if only to ensure that none of us ever have to stand in her place. (22/11/2015)