The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

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Apparently, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has been hijacked by the Capitol, replacing his memories of Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) with false images made even more intense through trackerjacker venom. She sees no other option but to head to the Capitol and make sure to kill President Snow (Donald Sutherland). She sneaks out onto a hoverplane that takes her to District 2, the Capitol’s last stand where the rebels aim to bomb the mountain range that houses the military’s defense. There she is grouped with volunteer soldiers: her best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth); fellow victor Finnick (Sam Claflin); and propos director Cressida (Natalie Dormer) among others. They all report to Colonel Boggs (Mahershala Ali). Things get difficult when President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) sends in Peeta to accompany them, knowing that he is still unstable and seems hell bent on killing Katniss. As they near the Capitol, the gamemakers’ pods multiply, putting everyone in grave danger.

Again, was there really a need to split the novel into two films? As a consequence, Part 1 had little action going on while Part 2 received much of it as they basically turned the path toward the Capitol into another Hunger Games. The structure of the plot also mimics the games, with the team losing members as they fall one by one due to the Capitol’s many booby traps. In the end, only the main characters are left, and then some. Part 2 benefits from the emotional appeal that Part 1 lacked. After all, many of these characters we’ve already grown emotionally attached to. Death is necessary to up the ante.

I just don’t like what they did to Johanna (Jena Malone). While I am glad that they dropped that dragging chapter in the novel that involved Katniss’ and Johanna’s recovery and bonding while training, it also means that Johanna’s tactlessness is left without context. To anyone who hasn’t read the books she’ll just come across as the constantly smirking morphling addict. Annoying. Sarcastic. Not sympathetic at all. I guess she just ended up as one of several casualties of novel-to-film storytelling here. There are just so many characters so this is to be expected. But hey, you divided the novel into two films, right? Oh well. Justice for Johanna!

At least Finnick got a more cinema-appropriate death as opposed to his rushed and uninspired death scene in the novel. I also like how they finally ramped up Coin’s sinister vibes. The idea of another Hunger Games involving the Capitol’s children is just vengeful and she is unmasked over and over again as the opportunistic politician that she is. She is no different from Snow. This makes her ending even more satisfying to watch. I bet Paylor will end up being a better president anyway. More compassion, and coming from a district that was never considered to be a formidable rival. Humility.

Another thing I noticed is how Katniss’ number one non-negotiable, that she herself will kill Snow, is not brought up until now. It kind of changes her motivation a bit. In the novel it is her primary goal and one of her conditions for agreeing to be the Mockingjay. In the film, it seems to come up out of the blue as retribution for more recent events, like Peeta’s hijacking, as if killing Snow only occurred to her because of what happened to Peeta. Or is this just their way of making her more morally gray?

In any case, the film stays true to the novel most of the time and there are no surprises here. Even the epilogue in the book is adapted faithfully but somehow the ending felt corny onscreen for whatever reason. It tracks, however. Hope and despair are two constant themes that the author played with in the trilogy. Seeing Katniss deciding to have children despite her initial reluctance is the perfect way to show how that balance between the two tilted more favorably in hope’s favor as they look forward to a post-dystopian Panem. Of course, the author could always revoke that peace and have another dictator rise, which is what happens in real life anyway. Hopefully, we’ll get to see Katniss and Peeta again decades down the line.