The final chapter of The Hunger Games film series, MOCKINGJAY PART 2 picks up moments after Part 1 left off and unwinds a fulfilling tale of loyalty, friendship, war & politics.
As Katniss (the always excellent Jennifer Lawrence) recovers from the attempted assassination attempt on her by her former games partner and love Peeta (Josh Hutcherson in his best performance in the series to date), the battle against the Capitol rages towards its climax.
Political leader of the rebellion, President Coin (Julianne Moore) wants Katniss to lay low and serve as a propoganda tool, Katniss has other ideas and immerses herself deep in the final battles for the capitol.
The film is a bit long, but the length is more than justified by the action sequences, which match Part 1 for special effects and deliver even more intensity, as characters you have grown to love fight and die in their quest for freedom.
All your favorites are back and some of them truly stand out in this chapter, including Haymitch (Woody Harrelson, often underrated but delivering here), Finnick (Sam Claflin), Johanna (Jena Malone in a full tilt crazy role) and of course Plutarch, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final film role.
Donald Sutherland is excellent as President Snow. My only problem with the film is that the powerful scene that Katniss and Snow finally share is too short. Sutherland and Lawrence are terrific in the same room and you want them to have a longer scene for their verbal battle, one of the best sequences in the series.
I started off really hating this film series, with the low budget, half-assed execution of the first film, but you have to credit the studio and the filmmakers for making each film more powerful than the last.
Mockingjay Part 2 isn't quite as good as last year's Part 1, but its very close and delivers a much more serious message on war, politics, freedom and loyalty than I could have ever expected going in.
Lawrence rocks. She is the one young actress working today that I can't wait to see what she'll do next. She throws this film on her back and runs all the way to its satisfying conclusion, earning a solid A and the appropriate three finger salute.
Well done Katniss, well done.
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