THE HUNGER GAMES films seem like an anomaly. They filmmakers managed to crank one out every year across three years, and they actually got slightly better with each new chapter. More importantly, they went from escapist entertainment about kids killing kids for sport to something far more substantial—a clear antiwar, anti-fascism statement that seems to make more and more sense in the times we're living in. Do we believe that in the not-too-distant future, a government (I'm talking about some government in the world) will sponsor games like this? Probably not. But do we believe that if a presiding government felt threatened, it would use citizens as human shields? Well, that's already happened.
Panem has become a world in which rebels are portrayed as terrorists, and dictators make themselves out to be caretakers of freedom, who believe that if you're not with us, you're against us. As the franchise has grown and evolved, it's gone from escapist science fiction to social commentary, and it's all the better for it with a substance to its screenplay, co-written by Peter Craig and Danny Strong (adapting Suzanne Collins novel). Almost as importantly as all of this, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 2 deals with the aftereffects of war in a very real way as well. There are characters here whose minds have clearly been shattered by being constantly attacked or threatened with attack—including Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who moves beyond simply being a run-of-the-mill action hero and opens up the Mockingjay as an emotional being who feels every loss of her comrades and suffers a great deal of survivor's guilt.
MOCKINGJAY, PART 2 picks up fairly soon after the last film. Katniss is finally able to speak after nearly being choked to death by Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who still believes her to be the ultimate enemy and consummate liar thanks to thorough brainwashing from President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Naturally, Katniss wants to mend things between her original Hunger Games partner, but Panem has bigger needs, which are outlined by rebellion leader, President Coin (Julianne Moore), and former Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in what will be his final on-screen performance).
More so than MOCKINGJAY, PART 1, Hoffman's unshot scenes are a bit more obvious, which only adds to the heartbreak of seeing him this final time in a new film. There's an election sequence near the end that Plutarch was clearly supposed to be a part of; he's even name-checked. Perhaps his greatest absence is felt in a scene in which Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) visits Katniss and reads her a letter from a now-fleeing Plutarch. As good as Harrelson is, he's given the unenviable task of reading words written for Hoffman, and it's easy to hear his voice saying them. This isn't a criticism of the film at all—the filmmakers certainly handled his absence as best they could. It just makes you miss Hoffman that much more.
MOCKINGJAY, PART 2 also opens up the true motives of President Coin a whole lot more. Her main concern is putting Katniss front and center as the Mockingjay to unite the district against Snow and the Capitol. And to do this, she casts Katniss as something of a propaganda figurehead more than an actual leader, shooting messages for the population to see in hopes of inspiring unity in the rebellion. Most of the film revolves around a small team of good-looking (by design, for the cameras) fighters moving miles behind the real fighters, in the interest of keeping Katniss safe. Included in this group are Gale (Liam Hemsworth, perhaps Katniss's true love), Finnick (Sam Clafin), Boggs (Mahershala Ali), Lt. Jackson (Michelle Forbes), and a few other familiar faces. Coin also decides to include the highly unstable Peeta in the mix, just to show that he's back fighting against Snow. The group makes their way cautiously through the leveled Capitol, avoiding traps and other dangers both above and below ground. One underground sequence involving a pack of creatures released to kill the rebels is utterly terrifying and especially well directed by returning helmer Francis Lawrence (who has directed all but the first of these films).
Friends and enemies die in great numbers. This isn't a film that makes it seem that war spares those closest to the main characters. MOCKINGJAY, PART 2 is a fittingly darker and more thrilling chapter of the HUNGER GAMES saga, and nothing quite wraps up the way you'd expect (unless you've read the books)—from Katniss's final confrontation with Snow to who (if anyone) Katniss ends up with as a love interest. Allegiances don't line up exactly how you'd expect, and certain fan-favorite characters are essentially sidelined to make room for actual substance. Katniss's sister Primrose (Willow Shields) and Johanna (Jena Malone) are still fairly sizable characters, but others—Jeffrey Wright's Beetee, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, Stanley Tucci's Caesar, and Paula Malcomson as Katniss's mother are mainly on screen for the vibe. I did like seeing "Game of Thrones" stars Natalie Dormer (who was in the last film) and Gwendoline Christie (who was not) get significant moments in this final chapter.
But it's Lawrence who carries the film as both its action and dramatic centerpiece. She's become a better and more confident actor since the series started, and she conveys a deep sense of pride, loss, regret and hope that I'm not sure she would have been capable of if the first film has required it. For sometimes decidedly different reasons, I've enjoyed each of the HUNGER GAMES films, but MOCKINGJAY, PART 2 wraps things up beautifully—not with a bang, but with a quiet, reflective look beyond the great war for the soul of Panem's citizens. Better than just a "Where are they now" footnote, the final sequence of this movie tells us a great deal about healing, both mentally and physically, after a long bout of sanctioned violence. It's decidedly action free, but that doesn't lessen the impact in any way. Nicely done, folks.
