As you probably all know, Mockingjay Part 2 is the sequel to last year’s Mockingjay Part 1. Crazy right? MP2, as I will now be referring to it as, is also the final movie in the Huger Games series. I am not a huge fan of the Hunger Games, but apparently lots of other people are; the trailer was the most talked about on Twitter after San Diego Comic Con! Having seen Part One with my grandma last year (she likes to take us to see movie versions of the teen novels she reads) I wasn’t really going in expecting much. And honestly, I was right to feel that way. This movie is meh.
I don’t plan on many, but I’ll throw up a MINOR SPOILER WARNING just in case.
As could easily be gathered, MJ2 picks up right where Part 1 leaves off: the army gathered at District 13 is preparing to finally attack the Capitol. Katniss finds herself a part of a specialized squad sent into the city early, and madness ensues. A few minor-yet-important characters bite the dust here, but honestly I found it hard to care, mostly because everyone looked exactly the same. Every member of Katniss’s squad wore the exact same outfit, so when they start moving quickly, it is very difficult to keep track of who’s who. After Katniss and remaining company finally make it to President Snow’s mansion, someone close to Katniss gets killed in a fire-bombing run. Once again, I feel like the writers wanted more emotional impact conveyed during this character’s death than what was actually delivered. Once the fighting in the Capitol stopped, everything became rather predictable (to me at least, and that doesn’t happen very often).
When it comes to acting nowadays, my opinion of actors and actresses tends to differ rather majorly from everyone else I know. In this movie, the acting was overwhelmingly ok. Everyone seemed to know what the dialogue needed to convey, but didn’t quite seem like they truly cared. However, I typically don’t think too much into dialogue; after all, a good actor can make terrible dialogue seem fantastic if they convey the right body signals. But, in my OPINION, I couldn’t stand Jennifer Lawrence in this movie at all. No matter the emotion of the situation, she always made the exact same facial expression, and always looked as if she was just feeling bored rather than upset or angry. Another thing that drove me ABSOLUTELY BANANAS about her performance was the she never, ever closed her mouth. Ever. Every facial expression (all one of them) was complimented by her mouth that seemingly couldn’t close. Even on the friggin poster her mouth is open! Aside from a rather poor performance (once again, just in my opinion) from J-Law, the rest of the acting was alright.
If you are a fan of the Hunger Games, I would absolutely recommend this movie. It ties up the story with a satisfactory ending, and it will appeal to anyone who liked the other movies. Mockingjay Part 2 has been granted a PG-13 rating, and that makes sense. While the movie has quite a bit of violence and death, I would say this movie is still acceptable for ages 10 and up.
Next week will be Tony’s return to Star Trek, but after that I plan (edit: hope) to write about Jessica Jones. So be prepared for that.
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