|
Yet another YA (Young Adult) motion picture property has reached its cinematic
conclusion. It seemed to be “the next big thing” 3 1/2 years ago with the
release of the first Hunger Games movie, the series has lived up to its hype.
The movie adaptation of the final book of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling trilogy,
Mockingjay, has been bisected and, although there’s little doubt this was a
financially savvy move, the creative results are dubious.
Mockingjay Part 1,
released a year ago, was a disjointed, incomplete affair and, although Mockingjay Part 2 is more polished, the pace is uneven and there’s a sense that
the series has hung around too long.
In keeping with the tone of the source material, Mockingjay Part 2 is bleak.
There’s nothing wrong with this - plenty of the best sci-fi movies have been
dark. The problem is that, in
addition to removing the light and hope, Mockingjay has robbed the series of its uniqueness. Suddenly, it feels like
every other dystopian motion picture - and
there are a lot of them out there. It’s impossible to distinguish large
stretches of Mockingjay Part 2, with characters running around in subterranean
tunnels being chased by zombie-like creatures, from the preview trailers of the
latest chapter of the Divergent series. They all blend together and that’s not a
good thing for any of them. The earlier Hunger Games movies stood apart. Not
anymore. And Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), reduced to an automaton as a result of
PTSD, has become generic.
Mockingjay Part 2 unsurprisingly begins where Part 1 ended. Katniss is
recovering after nearly being choked to death by her former lover, the
traumatized and brain-washed Peeta (Josh
Hutcherson). Distressed about what has happened to Peeta, Katniss volunteers to
be part of an assault on the Capitol. Her goal is to confront and assassinate
President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The President of the Resistance, Alma Coin
(Julianne Moore), is in favor of using Katniss for maximum political value, even
if that means turning her into a martyr. Joined by allies like Gale (Liam
Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin), and Boggs (Mahershala Ali), Katniss makes a
push for the Capitol but soon learns that her primary role may be as a decoy and
media star.
Despite some engaging battle scenes, Mockingjay Part 2 at times becomes
repetitive. The
attack on the Capitol is overlong, featuring a protracted
sequence in tunnels and underground corridors. All this leads to an
anticlimactic ending that, although it makes a strong political
point about the moral ambiguity of war, is not cinematically satisfying. The
“twist” at the end is neither surprising nor unexpected. Even those who haven’t
read the book will see it coming. Don't get me started on the final coda scene.
It completely undermines the character of Katniss that has been established in
the previous three films.
Another disappointment is the characterization of President Snow. The sneering,
Machiavellian dictator who sought Katniss’s death throughout the first three
films has been reduced to a feeble shadow of his former self. In Mockingjay Part
2, he’s almost to be pitied. His schemes are ineffective and his inevitable
downfall is dramatically inert. Snow, who was unquestionably a villain “we loved
to hate” in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire has devolved into a pathetic bad
guy - someone it’s difficult to summon much feeling about one way or the other.
If one of the expected pleasures of seeing Mockingjay Part 2 was to relish
Snow’s inevitable downfall, the way in which the narrative unfolds cheats
viewers of that.
When one considers the amount of talent packed into the cast of Mockingjay Part
2,
it should come as no surprise that the acting level is high. Oscar winners
and nominees abound. Jennifer Lawrence is not as compelling or charismatic as
she was in the first two Hunger Games installments, but that’s a result of how
the character is written - Katniss has been transformed into a shell-shocked,
revenge-driven Terminator. Josh Hutcherson does his best Manchurian Candidate
impression but the chemistry he shared with Lawrence is missing. The
Katniss-Peeta-Gale love triangle collapses into irrelevance. Many returnees from
the previous installments (like Woody Harrelson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman in his
final role, Stanley Tucci, and Julianne Moore) are accorded little screen time
and no opportunity for development.
Director Francis Lawrence, who did a good job with the action scenes in
Catching Fire
(he helmed all of the Hunger Games films except the first one), is unable
to replicate his success here. There are a few suspenseful sequences - a notable
one involving an oil-trap and one that has an Aliens influence - but many of the
movie’s so-called “high octane” sequences are visually impressive but
emotionally shallow. Several key deaths have little or no impact.
At least it can be said that Mockingjay Part 2 ends the saga. All the individual
storylines are wrapped up. There’s no doubting that this movie has high
aspirations - it wants to depict war not as a rah-rah, video game experience but
as something violent, desperate, and destructive. But the compromises it makes
to attract a wide audience neuter the message. Mockingjay Part 2 never goes “all
in” and, as a result, it fails to satisfy as either a traditional sci-fi
adventure blockbuster or an exploration of the dark side of war. The Hunger
Games movies began with much promise but after the pinnacle of
Catching Fire, it
has been a slog to the finish line. We’re finally there and the feeling is more
exhaustion then fulfillment.
|
