The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Here we are, the final instalment of The Hunger Games franchise. After loving the books, I was majorly happy with the first two adaptations of the source material. The third I was not so happy with and you can read my review for Part 1 here. Now here's the second part of the third adaptation and although a it has a lot of similar problems, overall it is a good send off for the franchise. Read on below to find out my full verdict.

So by now you know the cast, the amazing Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, accompanied by Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and the best supporting cast from your favourite TV shows of the last five years. Seriously, there are so many familiar faces from the likes of Game of Thrones and House of Cards. In this film the rebellion is in full swing in an attempt to bring an end to the pain and suffering in the Districts.

Now lets start with the good, like the rest of the series, Mockingjay doesn't take a half hearted stab at the source material, instead it takes it seriously and creates a very faithful adaptation of the text unlike other Young Adult franchises such as Divergent, which is pretty much a paint by number YA film with no heart or effort put into making a 'good' film. The Hunger Games stands out because it feels like a film in which an effort has been made to make it more than just a Blockbuster, it's also a social commentary on the world we live in today. Plus the films have some amazing performances from all involved!

There are some brilliant scenes in this film and a lot of these are extremely terrifying and hard to watch at points. There is a sequence in this film that could rival most horror movies and made me wonder how this film didn't get more than a 12A rating. These scenes are well executed and the effects are top notch. We've come a long way from the crappy fire in the first film.

When this film ended I was surprised at how much it hit me that this franchise had ended. It was about four years ago I got hooked on the books and I remember being extremely excited for the first film, this excitement may have diminished in 2015 but I was left thinking how much I would miss those early days of the franchise. It packed a punch that's for sure. If the split of the final book hadn't happened and a third film was made using only the best parts of Part 1 and 2 then this could easily be one of the best trilogies of this millennium so far.

So now onto the bad. Like Part 1 there were scenes in this film that just dragged! It suffered from something I like to call The Walking Dead effect, where there are some great set pieces and then the characters just mope around and engage in un-engaging conversations about how they feel until the next great set piece. Some of the scenes were so slow that it felt like it was intentionally trying to justify the split... well it didn't work guys. But hey, now they have twice the money!

Another problem I had with the film was the lighting, it was so dark in places that I could hardly tell what was going on, which sucked because some of the visuals were great, just a little tough to make out at times.

There are few key scenes that are brushed over surprisingly quickly, scenes of a spoilerish nature but you'll probably understand what I mean if/when you have seen it.

Like I said at the start of the review, it's a good enough send off to one the best YA franchises around, I doubt we'll get anything aimed at teenagers with a similar amount of quality any time soon. Or at least not what I have seen from other YA franchises following in The Hunger Games shadow. But then again I'm not the audience anymore, The Hunger Games got me in my final teenage years and I loved it and I am now sad it's gone, well until the announcement of the prequels or some other way to drain the life out of a decent film franchise! I am giving Mockingjay Part 2 a rating of 3.5/5.

What did you think of Mockingjay Part 2? Better than Part 1? Better than Catching Fire? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

The Hunger Games Review

Ok so if you have read any of my early posts you will know that I have been looking forward to this film for a while after having my mind blown by the books. I booked tickets as soon as I could after recent hype suggests this could be massive! Well... It did not disappoint!

I thank the director Gary Ross for not making this 'the next twilight' as it has been wrongly accused of being. This was a sophisticated film that had it's own unique style that pulled it apart from any other film I have seen before. I'm sure there will be some who join the 'Team Peeta' and 'Team Gale' groups but for me, I'm more 'Team Katniss'!

Jeniffer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen. She truly does take over the role and holds the film throughout, even against the acting legends such as Donald Sutherland, Stanely Tucci and Woody Harrelson. The world will definitely be watching her then! If you are unsure of plot (where have you been?) then here it is: 'Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.' This may sound cheesy but it is far from it!

The films cinematography is superb and it visually looks incredible. The camerawork is mainly handheld and shaky which gives it it's own style though sometimes is overused and can confuse the scene ans starts to make you dizzy. The visual effects are great and The Capitol personally reminds me of the planet Naboo in Star Wars. The 'girl on fire dress' which fans of the book have been eagerly waiting to see is the only down point of the film as it does not look brilliant but then again imagination is each to their own.

The music contributes to the emotion of the film even when it is not present. With the ambient music and unique cinematography the film feels like it should be an indie and not the big blockbuster I am sure it will become.

This though is not a film for kids, not because of the graphic content, (which there is enough for us older teens to enjoy!) but because it is quite slow paced and dramatic which is not bad at all for us movie buffs out there! It really is emotional and I felt myself getting goosebumps and welling up at numerous scenes from the very start! Some bits in the film I felt more emotionally connected to the characters then I did when I was reading the book!

But I am not saying it is better then the book, because it is not. The books go more in depth about certain situations and you can understand the characters motives more. Though there are some bits of the film that I thought were better then the book and better then I imagined them to be! The film even adds stuff in that was not in the book, which really work as we are no longer watching just from Katniss's point of view like the books, but we see outside the games, including one very emotional and powerful riot scene which was actually one of my highlights of the film!

Overall a very good and faithful adaption that leaves you hungry for more. Though I do worry for the sequels as the first film has raised a very high bar. I am not afraid to admit that this is one of the best films I have seen and definitely the best film of 2012 so far! Bring on The Avengers!

Thanks for reading!

Team Katniss!