Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is recovering from the attack by a brainwashed Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) who tried to kill her after he was rescued from the Capitol.  She makes it her mission to be the one to kill President Snow (Donald Sutherland) by getting closer to the war zone, but she soon realizes she is a political pawn in President Coin’s bid for power. 

 

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 wraps up the series in proper fashion and is a good conclusion to Part 1 even though the ending runs one or two scenes too long (real or not real) and I wish they changed the fate of one character from the book.  The impact of the war on Panem is visible with the Capitol looking like Berlin under siege just with some deadly traps (fyi- part of MOCKINGJAY was filmed in Berlin).  You see the revolution against president Snow is about moves and counter moves.  The traps make Katniss and her group’s journey to Snow’s mansion is very much like The Hunger Games.  They are able to work around the absence of Philip Seymour Hoffman with great ease since there were only two more Plutarch scenes left to film (due to the actor’s untimely death during his break from production).

 

I will miss the series as these four films chronicle a journey for Katniss as she develops from a teenage girl trying to fend for her family to a woman who never wanted to be the face of a revolution against tyranny.   The only other flaw of the series is I never liked the character of Peeta whether I liked the performance of Josh Hutcherson or not.  The casting of great genre actors in supporting roles is a good spot the actor game like Michelle Forbes and Gwendoline Christie showing up in roles for this final installment.   It is recommended to watch Part 1 back to back with Part 2 (I watched MOCKINGJAY Part 1 again on the day I saw Part 2.)  I do think a rewatch of the entire series is in store for me when THE HUNGE RGAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 comes out on blu-ray next spring.  The whole series of THE HUNGER GAMES has great social and political commentary buried under the surface of the story and characters along with some hidden lessons about history.  Fans of the series will like this movie.

 

This review is ©11-22-2015 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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