The thrilling conclusion to the epic four-part saga centers around Katniss’s war against President Snow, and the fight for freedom, in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2”. After the attack on District 13, As the war of Panem escalates to the destruction of other districts by the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), the reluctant leader of the rebellion, must bring together an army against President Snow (Donald Sutherland), while all she holds dear hangs in the balance. The conclusion to not only the series in general, but the two-part split movie, provides a strong note for the past four years. While the splitting of the finale into two films hurts some pacing in both films, the latest installment is filled with intense action sequences, as well as a star studded cast that showcases their most emotional of performances for the series. The Hunger Games is back where it should be, focusing on the mission at hand. After a reflective look back, it is my second favorite film from the series.

The film immediatly picks up right where the last movie left off, and for at least the first twenty minutes or so, it’s hard to shake that this is it’s own seperate entity from the previous installment. To anyone who read my review on part 1, I expressed how the splitting of these films put the movement of the film’s structure in serious jeopardy, as both films have some drawn out scenes that had me reaching for my watch. Most of it for this film is during the second act, when the story kind of searches for something of intrigue in addition to the mulling over of the past events several times. But once the action finally starts, we are in for a Hunger Games movie unlike any other. I commend this film for taking a different direction with the overall mood and backdrop of the movie, with it being a dark and ominous feeling of dread around our protagonists. During the first three films, you always felt a glimmer of hope somewhere deep inside this dystopian prison. Those films gave us motivating circumstances, and while “Part 2” has some emotionally moving scenes, it stays pretty faithful to the feeling that this is an adult hunger games world. It feels like we the audience, as well as the characters in the film itself have grown up around this series, supplying a creative maturity that came to respect it’s mostly teenage audience.

I mentioned earlier how the action sequences really played a huge part in this movie, and a lot of that has to do with high priced sets and CGI effects that instill a fresh new look to familiar tricks inside the games. When CGI technology really works is when it can display side by side with the actors and not make the sets look greenscreened or fake. The edging is perfect, succeeding in not giving away it’s computer generated origins in the middle of some edge-of-your-seat moments. With a 125 Million dollar budget, this film is the most expensive of the series, and it really shows at the side splitting displays of action, with collapsing buildings, non stop bombings, and a beautiful underground tunnel sequence with some real ugly creatures that look like something out of “Jacob’s Ladder”. This film really relies on this stuntwork a lot more than the other films did, and I thought it added something exciting and anxious as a subplot to the love triangle that we the audience are familiar with.

Not to be disappointed with arguably the best ensemble cast of the year, the performances of high and low on screen time are brilliant. Lawrence is one of the biggest stars working in film today, but she feels every bit as locked on and focused during the most important of moments for her character. It’s in “Part 2” where we really get to see the reflection of emotional wear and tear of a woman with an entire world on her shoulders. When her breaking moment comes, it is among some of the very most convincing acting that i have seen from Jennifer to date. In addition to this, Josh Hutcherson gives his best transformation of the series. He didn’t have a big part during “Part 1”, so it was really nice to see Josh back in the limelight playing opposite of his on-screen heroine. Hutcherson has really come a long way in his depth, and this is reflective with how many different emotions the movie desires from him. Because of his brainwashing from the Capitol, his character is always a bit of a wild card emotionally throughout this film. This could easily fall into the clutches of laughable with how often it switches off, but Hutcherson plays it effortlessly from the heart, and you root for the reckoning of he and Katniss’s relationship. No protagonist can be great without a good antagonist however, and Sutherland is the very identity of evil in this series lifespan. Donald isn’t given a lot of screen time in any of these films, but you better believe that he makes the most of his scenes. There were so many times when I wanted this man to get what he deserved so badly, and that is because of 40+ years of grade A acting from the longtime veteran. The scenes i couldn’t get the most of were the ones involving President Snow, and his arrogance with dealing with people financially below him, creates a villain we can all relate to in today’s world.

The final half hour of the film are some of the very best in the entire series, despite the ending that gives many false finishes with the screen fading to black. After the big confrontation, you kind of just wait for the end of the movie. That’s not to say that the ending is anti-climatic, but the war itself is the biggest thing for the audience, and that creates such an emotional rollercoaster that is quite hard to follow. I greatly enjoyed “Part 2”, but stand by my opinion that Mockingjay shouldn’t have been divided into two parts. Because of the split, it’s easier to notice those scenes that don’t go by as smoothly as those in the first two movies. Not EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of the book had to be added into these films, but because of 5 hours to fill, we receive every small detail. The good news is that the final offering from this series sends the fans out on a high note of social commentary with impactful action that wraps everything up in pleasing fashion.

8/10