The final installment of the Hunger Games is far darker than we’ve seen before. It’s a darkness that is both refreshing and surprising.
Mockingjay Part 2, hitting theaters Thursday night, is the culmination of the beloved series by Suzanne Collins, a trilogy that many people say put dystopian YA on the map.
The film picks up just a bit after we left off. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has recovered after being nearly strangled by Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) once the Capitol has brainwashed him.
The film is much more of an rebellion war film than one expects of a YA fantasy film. It follows Katniss and her team of many familiar faces (Finnick, Gale, Cressida, etc.) as they try to reach President Snow’s mansion through a series of deadly traps (“pods”). It’s the 76th Hunger Games, as Katniss and Finnick joke. Meanwhile, President Coin’s army of rebels advances closer and closer to the Capitol.
Katniss is on a personal mission to kill President Snow and that’s where things get dicey. There are plenty of explosions, deadly magnetic darts, and an appearance of mutts, the most frightening beings in Collins’ universe. And that plays in well with the visuals.
Most impressive, of course, is the film’s cinematography prowess. But that’s not surprising since veteran HG director Francis Lawrence was in charge (Lawrence also directed Part 1 and Catching Fire). Panem seems larger than life and the sprawling Capitol is a beautiful nightmare of destruction, making it worth the extra cash to catch it in IMAX.
But perhaps, what’s at the film’s heart is Katniss and Peeta’s relationship. Sure, we already know what happens because of the books, but Lawrence and Hutcherson bring it to life. Their subtlety is convincing. Their looks, words, and body movements show a strained yet real relationship that at times, seems like a lost cause. But the two actors bring it back and convince us otherwise even in a sea of impossibility.
The truth is, it was never Gale’s (Liam Hemsworth) film, even if the trilogy convinced us otherwise with the love triangle. Hemsworth is strong, capable, and certainly nice to look at, but the film’s characterization isn’t kind and it’s clear he never has a chance with our heroine.
In a lot of ways, Mockingjay, Part 2, is a satisfying end to a franchise. It’s not perfect, but very few things are. Of course, the actors have hinted at a prequel or a sequel and only time will tell. We’ll just have to figure out what to do in the meantime.
