The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

The last installment of the series is slightly better than the previous journey into the world of Panem simply because it is less talkative and manages to show action and throw in some attractions in the form of mutant attacks or clever traps for the rebel team throughout its long duration. Unfortunately, it is also the most convincing evidence of how poorly the world is designed and how (un)functional it actually is. Nothing really makes sense in the film. In the third installment, the ruling regime is in control and capable of delivering devastating blows to the rebels, so we quickly reach the "battle for Berlin" phase, the final agony, where regime supporters collapse one after another, without it being clear how this miraculous turnaround happened. Pro-regime forces lose energy and the remaining resources on nonsensically over-engineered traps intended for television cameras at a time when it no longer makes even the slightest sense. With a switched-off brain and a fondness for Jennifer Lawrence, however, Mockingjay can be tolerated. Overall impression: 40%. (2022-05-19)

It had to end with the cat. I understand that the filmmakers had to stay true to the book’s ending, but the impression that the film leaves is in conflict with more than just the transformation that Katniss underwent in the two preceding instalments (the mention of nightmares as an indication of PTSD is rather unconvincing in light of the kitschy stylisation of the scene). At the same time, it deadens the whole trilogy’s “emancipatory” potential by passing off the dumbest gender stereotype as the ideal state. Eastwood similarly cut the recent American Sniper off at the knees in its final minutes. Otherwise, Mockingjay – Part 2 is a generally satisfying effort to make a YA blockbuster that rejects certain genre conventions (the unspectacular beginning, the most epic action taking place long before the atypically intimate ending, the blurred line between good and evil) and even has something to say to adults (war propaganda, the demise of the old world, the overlaying of real memories with media representations). Like Mockingjay – Part 1, the film begins with an unusually dark and bombastic scene that sets the course of the narrative. Katniss must regain (literally and figuratively) the voice that she lost in the previous instalment. Through most of the film, however, her control over the situation is not as great as she imagines it to be or as is indicated by her heroic framing (at the centre in order to dominate the whole shot while towering over the other characters) and the frequent shots of her face filling the entire screen. Katniss’s journey of personal revenge is for the most part a propaganda spectacle directed from above for the masses, essentially another edition of the Hunger Games, with the ruins of the Capitol serving as the new arena. The illusion of freedom of choice and the fight for a just cause isn’t destroyed as thoroughly as the previous instalment promised, but the film is still a likably unique incentive to think about the mass production of pop-culture rebels who fail to grasp the idea that they are not fighting against the system, but within it. 75% (2015-11-27)

Even though I left the movie theater disappointed because I still think the film lacked suitable progression and only aimed for effect with some scenes (this was very positively achieved in the underground scene, in its most dramatic part), I do think the socially critical themes are accentuated well here, and it's possible to ponder over the film. In the end, the romance ends a bit foolishly and without the necessary punch, but it's bearable. (2015-11-19)

It can be seen that the film was very expensive and narrative-based, the music is dynamically thundering, the actors are trying, the directing is skilled, etc. However, none of this can obscure the fact that from the point of view of the story, there is simply almost nothing interesting going on in the film, whilst what could have been interesting is pointlessly truncated to a minimum. After the previous, worn-out work, I was looking forward to the announced civil war and the grand finale, but I did not get to see anything like that, and instead I was served another load of the same boredom. Most of the film has a rather sluggish pace and suffers from shallow dialogues that more or less repeat the same thing that has been said before. There are only two more decent action scenes in 135 minutes, and we get to see only a short fraction of the most important of them - the attack of the insurgents on the Capitol. (2015-11-21)

The final part of the book trilogy and the film tetralogy wasn’t all that different from the previous installment, so I got a huge dose of grandiose speechifying, and I wasn’t spared the inevitable clichés, melodrama, and the cat of course. What surprised me was the ending, though. I was expecting a postapocalyptic-fairytale finale, but the conclusion to the story was downright biblical. A man and a woman..... A pair of teenagers lie down in bed, tell each other they love each other, and wake up the next day as parents of two children, one of whom is obviously of Chinese descent. Mary with her immaculate conception can't match that. But back to the film. Once again, the filmmakers used tried and tested techniques to create a pompous CGI spectacle and a story whose logic is so flimsy that entire city blocks slip through its cracks. At the same time, they were unable to build up an atmosphere that would have any kind of effect on me, which is why I found the whole thing oddly lifeless to the point of boring. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters, and when some of the characters met their tragic fate, I didn't really feel anything. The film simply felt empty and unimpressive. I was just two hours of nothing. And to think how hard Donald Sutherland was trying... / Lesson learned: Are you fighting for great ideals? Prepare to be disappointed. (2022-09-11)