Film Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2    9.5/10
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Plot: Katniss must kill President Snow for good, otherwise Panem will remain under his rule forever.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you'll be fully aware that splitting a novel across multiple movies has become all the rage. While Harry Potter nailed the split and The Hobbit failed miserably, it's time for Francis Lawrence to send The Hunger Games franchise out with a bang - but is he able to do it with only half a novel?

Following on from the rather dark and morbid final scene of Mockingjay - Part 1, we find Katniss ready for war at the start of Part 2. Jennifer Lawrence is as emotionally captivating as you can imagine (and more). The Oscar-winner masters the pre-battle speeches, moments of loss and gigantic action sequences like a true heroine. It's fair to say that after four giant blockbuster movies as Katniss Everdeen, Lawrence has truly made this franchise her own; and while the remainder of the cast remain very much in support mode, they are not without their standout performances.

Donald Sutherland as President Snow remains one of the most infuriating yet fantastic villains in recent years. Sutherland doesn't need to raise his voice once, as his truly punishing stare and haunting presence fills the entire screen (which has become increasingly rare in Hollywood blockbusters). Josh Hutcherson finally shines as the brainwashed and very much troubled Peeta Mellark. Meanwhile, fan favourites Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, and Woody Harrelson as Haymith Abernathy, return for very sweet but awfully short scenes. With the acting box well and truly ticked for the grand finale, is this the most satisfying conclusion for worldwide audiences? The answer may well be mixed. 

The movie's IMDb rating currently sits at 7.0 out of 10, while RottenTomatoes holds a 70% approval rating. Looking back, Mockingjay - Part 1 forced the franchise to stoop to a new box office low. To counteract this, Part 2 ramps up the action to a whole new level. Director Francis Lawrence has turned the Capitol into a giant arena, with boobie traps around every corner. From zombie mutts to giant machine guns, the final hour plays out like a giant goose chase, as Katniss and co. race to President Snow's mansion before it's too late. Most notably, a sequence involving Katniss and Gale marching towards Snow's Mansion is one of the most intense and perfectly assembled in the entire series.

With all that said, this may not be the conclusion non-book readers were hoping for. With the 137-minute running time dedicating itself entirely to the original source material, moviegoers may well be disappointed with the lack of Return-Of-The-King-styled action. However, for the dedicated readers of the book, the more emotionally charged script leads for a refreshingly different finish, as the action takes a backseat to the story line.

In Conclusion: Though Catching Fire may well be the strongest entry in the series, Francis Lawrence steers The Hunger Games to its truly grand finale, with one of the most faithful young-adult adaptations to date. With its political and cultural backdrop becoming increasingly significant in today's culture, the story of Katniss Everdeen will go down as one of Hollywood's greatest.

“The Divergent Series” – Is The ‘Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ Craze Dying Out?

The Divergent series is one of those that you’ve either heard of or you haven’t. You’re most probably aware of it if you’re a young adult, avid reader of popular fiction or dragged to your local multiplex by a younger relative. With news that the final novel in the trilogy shall be - once again - split across two, feature-length instalments, it begs the ultimate question… is the series really that popular?
 
The Divergent series of books sold in excess of six millions copies in 2013 alone, topped USA Today’s Best-Seller List and won numerous accolades in the process. Unsurprisingly, before the series grew into the young adult phenomenon it has become, Summit Entertainment had already picked up the film rights back in March 2011. No doubt, following The Twilight Saga’s incredible success, Summit were quick to pick up the new hot topic before the bidding war commenced. Likewise, before fans knew it, Shailene Woodley and Theo James had already signed up as the two leads.

Following its debut in 2014 with an $85 million budget, Divergent managed to draw in an audience of $288.7 million worldwide. Clearly, the numbers show a success story but comparing it to its predecessors? Not so much. The Twilight Saga’s first instalment pulled in a mighty $392 million worldwide on a mightily small budget of $37 million. Similarly, the first outing in The Hunger Games series accumulated $691 million, also on a smaller budget than Divergent. So why, may you be asking, should we be making these comparisons when Divergent is still raking in the cash?

Well, 2015 saw Divergent’s sequel Insurgent smash onto cinema screens across the globe. Now, even after cranking up the budget to $110 million (with marketing and advertising costs not included in this figure), Insurgent pulled in only a slice more than its predecessor, coming in at $295.2 million. While this figure doesn’t take into account DVD, on-demand and television broadcast revenue, it’s very clear that the series has suffered something of a tumbling block – a waning interest, you could say.

Now, this is where the real question comes into place. Following the news that the final novel in the series – Allegiant – would be split into two, only last week did Summit announce the surprising titles of the two final parts. While Harry Potter, Twilight and The Hunger Games series have embraced the ‘Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ titles for their respective final novels, Divergent has decided to change to Allegiant (the title of the final novel) and the newly-introduced Ascendant for the fourth and final part.

Why does a series finale need to create a completely new name? Well, the fatigue surrounding splitting novels was evident in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which underperformed and took in over $100 million less than its previous outing, Catching Fire. Summit clearly want non-book readers to forget that Allegiant will be stretched across two feature films. Similarly, if the original Allegiant – Part 1 had taken in an even smaller box office than Insurgent, it could prove fatal to the series, especially with the budget likely to balloon for a more explosive and satisfying ending.

It’s also important to note that Insurgent wasn’t as favourable with the fans as hoped. Major changes were made during the adaptation process, with fans questioning where the series could go next. Meanwhile, it’s been proven to be a box office disaster to upset fans in the past (note The Mortal Instruments).

Overall, it’s strange to see a movie series with a moderately sized audience stretch out an additional two films when - taking into marketing and advertising costs – its previous outing barely put any pennies into the profit pot; particularly when there’s two more blockbusters to fund.


As much as we can speculate and question whether Allegiant and Ascendant will satisfy the book fans and pull in those that have only kept up to scratch by screen, only time will tell.
Take a look for yourself at Allegiant’s new and exclusive first-look trailer below.