To nick a quote from everyone's favourite time-travelling physician, 'it's the end, but the moment has been prepared for'. And so we reach the end of The Hunger Games saga with Mockingjay: Part Two.
Picking up almost straight after the end of Part One, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has been traumatised by her attack by the unstable Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). However, the rebellion against the Capitol continues and Katniss continues to be the Mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion. Starting with neutralising a threat in District 2, the rebels continue their march toward the Capitol to overthrow President Snow (Donald Sutherland), leading to Katniss' final confrontation with Snow...
It's a frustratingly inconsistent film. There are some great intimate character moments, for instance- the conversation between Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) about their respective love for Katniss; the wonderful showdown between Katniss and Snow in the greenhouse- but several of the action scenes are muddy and either really badly shot or really badly edited, making it difficult to see who's doing what to whom.
There's no scene that displays this more clearly than the sewer sequence where Katniss and her team are chased by Mutts (zombie-like creatures with massive teeth). The tense build-up is handled really well- almost playing like a sequence from a horror film (and pushing the boundaries of the 12A certificate)- but once the Mutts attack, the camerawork goes to pot, as does the lighting, and you're left with a morass of limbs. Frankly if Katniss hadn't screamed the name of the person who died, I wouldn't have been able to work it out. I know they're going for a kinetic pace but it's done at the cost of seeing what's going on.
Screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong are mostly faithful to Suzanne Collins' source material. When I first read Mockingjay, at several points, I had a thought of 'how the hell are they going to do this on screen?' Like Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Mockingjay is dark. In places, really dark (and this is a franchise that starts with the idea of children killing each other for sport). There's a particularly defining moment in the book which, when I first read it, gave me a lump in the throat. That moment is reproduced here and it's a ballsy move by the filmmakers to include it.
Performance-wise, as all the rest have been, it's solid across the board. Lawrence is as watchable as ever as Katniss, whilst Donald Sutherland's performance has more steel and substance to it than in Part One; he's much less Bond-villain. No complaints either about Julianne Moore who brings a steely determination to the role of President Coin. Josh Hutcherson probably gives his best performance as Peeta, as he struggles to undo the torture he underwent in the Capitol whilst Liam Hemsworth is as dependable as ever as Gale. You can tell what was filmed after the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman- there's a scene at the end where Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) gives Katniss a letter from Plutarch, where it seems obvious that- had Hoffman still been around- Plutarch would have given the news himself.
Several actors get short-changed in this instalment, although make an impact when they do appear. I'm thinking specifically of Jena Malone, whose acerbic Johanna Mason has been one of the standout performances in the saga, Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks, who is always superb as Effie. You can also add Gwendoline Christie to this list- the Game Of Thrones star pops up very briefly at the beginning as District 2 leader Commander Lyme but gives a suitably commanding performance.
Despite my grousing, the film is not a complete disaster and rounds The Hunger Games saga off competently. But it's exactly that: competent. Not good, not great. Competent. It had the potential to be superb but sadly, for me, that potential hasn't been realised.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Tez
I blame Harry Potter.
Splitting the film adaptation of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows into two films started a precedent, especially among final instalments of Young Adult novel adaptations. The Twilight franchise did it. The Divergent franchise will do it, and now The Hunger Games has done it. Whether it was done for a cynical marketing ploy to wring more money from the fans or whether done for the exigences of the story, I don't know (I suspect a little of Column A and a little of Column B) but, as it stands, here is Mockingjay: Part One.
After the events of the Quarter Quell, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is now in the militaristic District 13, overseen by the powerful President Coin (Julianne Moore). Since Katniss' actions in the arena (as seen in Catching Fire), Panem has been in a state of rebellion. Coin wants to capitalise on this momentum and try and overthrow the Capitol, but they need a figurehead- they want Katniss to act as their Mockingjay. There's just one problem. Several of the other tributes in the Quarter Quell arena, including Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) have been captured and are being held by President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Katniss agrees to act as the Mockingjay but there's a few conditions: one being the immediate rescue of the tributes...
Without the focus of the actual Games itself, there was a danger that there would be no focal point of action in Mockingjay. Luckily several action set pieces make up for this. It's also chockful of brilliant performances, none more so than Jennifer Lawrence.
Lawrence has been superb in the other films and continues that high level of quality here. What's interesting about Katniss' position in Mockingjay is she's not a superhero, she's traumatised and scarred by what's happened to her and that comes through. Lawrence shows a startling level of maturity, sharing the screen with some of the strongest actors working in film at the moment and matching them. Truly remarkable work.
Julianne Moore- criminally underrated- is great as Coin. She's ruthless, determined but not callous or unfeeling, just incredibly pragmatic. Donald Sutherland is similarly great as President Snow, giving quite a broad performance (almost Bond-villain-esque in places, wide-eyed madness in lieu of previous steely understatement) but in terms of the character arc, it's completely understandable. Liam Hemsworth- so often relegated to minor player in the other films- gets more of a substantive role here and does well as Gale. Philip Seymour Hoffman's scenes have an added poignancy to them but it's a reminder of how good he was as an actor as Plutarch schemes and manipulates to get Katniss to be the Mockingjay.
Elizabeth Banks returns as Effie Trinket, now much more understated away from the ostentatiousness of the Capitol but losing none of that trademark camp bite. Natalie Dormer is strong as director Cressida, charged with making the propaganda films to destabilise the Capitol. Josh Hutcherson's performance as Peeta is affecting as the effects of the Capitol's torture of Peeta is writ large across his face. Finally, there's a lovely performance by Sam Claflin as Finnick, one of the tributes who puts himself on air to divulge a few of the Capitol's nasty little secrets as the rebels storm the Capitol in search of the tributes.
The other two films have made much of the contrast between the life in the Districts and the opulence and overindulgence of the Capitol, with the Capitol scenes bright and gaudy and obscenely over-the-top. There's not much made of that this time - the whole palette of the film seems muted and there are no real flashes of colour. It's a much more serious world presented (even though they still do the really annoying and frankly nauseating camera work where the cameraman runs after the characters and the camera shakes with every jolt).
They've also picked a bit of a weird place to split the book and end the first film (but then I felt the same about Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows). They could have easily cut it a good 10-15 minutes before and ended on a nice cliffhanger, but they choose to press on and end it on a less powerful moment.
These are minor issues and do not detract from the whole thing. It's a strong film and worth your time and I'm looking forward to seeing the resolution of the franchise when Mockingjay Part Two hits cinemas next November.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tez
The original Hunger Games arrived with enough hype to rival the London 2012 games. The first big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ ridiculously successful teenage novels, this was to be the beginning of a huge film franchise that would go toe-to-toe with heavyweights like Harry Potter; the brand new Twilight. While the original film made enough money to buy a lifetime supply of Drumstick lollies and then some, the reaction from Collins’ fans, and those who had never picked up the books, was lukewarm. The film was watered down, lacking both the smart observations and brutal violence that made the books so celebrated. I have to hold my hands up and admit that I have never read the books, but from what friends have told me, The Hunger Games is Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale with a heart. The big screen version of The Hunger Games I saw was Battle Royale for the kiddies, with all the satire and teenage slaying removed to conveniently give the film a 12A rating.
It did not take the bigwigs at Lionsgate long to green light a sequel, and here we are with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. On the plus side, Catching Fire has learnt a few lessons since the original, though it’s unlikely to be troubling the likes of Hogwarts and Co. When the film does get going (which takes a while; it’s nearly two-and-a-half hours and during the first hour very little happens), you rarely stop to breathe, with one impressive set piece after another. Just as before, Jennifer Lawrence proves why she is the go-to-girl for Hollywood’s leading roles and why she totally deserved to win an Oscar.
Again, I’m pointing out that I have not read the novels, and maybe this is what screenwriters Simon Beaufoy and Michael Ardnt have had to work with, but the satire and nods feel as subtle as a brick through a window. The first hour of Catching Fire is virtually scene-after-scene of not so much nods, but head-butts to what’s going on in our world today: those with too much and those with not enough; politicians abusing their power; the public’s consumption for reality TV and how far these shows are willing to go for entertainment. Without sounding patronising, raising these issues is important, but there are contemporary films out there that have been far more successful at highlighting the world’s flaws. In Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, what made the film so heart-breaking was that at no point do its protagonists even consider an uprising, instead choosing to accept their fate. Also, Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men showed us an alternative future, suggesting that it’s not too big a leap to see Britain becoming a nation of fascists. It wouldn’t be so bad if there was some character development or a narrative to push the film forward, and while there are a handful of scenes, for the most part Catching Fire’s first hour is determined to list the many injustices of this world in as blatant a way as possible.
Catching Fire feels like two films that have been bolted onto each other. You have the plodding first hour followed by the remainder of the film, which makes up for this with CGI set piece after CGI set piece. All of these scenes are brilliantly put together, and you do find yourself worrying about the characters (a scene involving a massive flock of mocking jays is chilling), though this is more because you are watching someone in deadly danger rather than actually caring about them. Jena Malone gets the most intriguing role as Johanna, driven mad by the Hunger Games and what it has cost, both to her and the people she loves. Unfortunately her backstory, the reason why she’s so angry all of the time, is explained away in an all too brief summing up by one of the supporting characters. With Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta, you’re not cheering him on because he is in love with Katniss, or because Peeta is a fully fleshed out character; it’s because he’s so damn nice.
Despite the film’s faults, for most of its running time it is a thrilling watch. When the tributes finally enter the arena it is action-packed and unrelenting, ending on a cliff-hanger that will certainly have me watching part three. There is plenty of bang for your buck here – poisonous fog, giant baboons and tidal waves to name just a few – and Jennifer Lawrence is perfect throughout. Katniss may not be the most complex film heroine, but Lawrence gives it her all, one minute being tough as hell with a bow and arrow, the next being caring and compassionate, letting that tough pretence suddenly slip. You can forgive many of Catching Fire’s problems because Lawrence does such a great job.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Matt
