Finally picking up some pace after the tedious, sorely-stretched penultimate Mockingjay Part 1, the final chapter of this 2-billion dollar franchise spikes up with a promise of rip-roaring adrenaline that fits for a final onslaught—a promise it could barely fulfill with its drawn out and narratively-flawed set up. It sounds fitting to call the previous installment as a storm of fire still gathering blaze, or an engine still heating up, with Katniss' being prepped up for a deadly rebellion as the fuel filling up the gas tank of interest for this last film. It is arguably a promise that has left a very comforting thought to dwell into, in spite of the fact that Part 1 isn't as compelling as any of the last two films. This year, part two unleashes that storm of fire, but it runs out of palpable wallop at landfall.
Picking up from the events where the previous film ended, the film follows District 13's march toward the Capitol, with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), at the forefront standing as the symbol of the rebellion headed by revolutionary President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore). The fire has already gathered blaze, even at the first overly-stretched twenty minutes or so allocated to wait for the smoldering heat to scream its vengeance. At the center of it is Katniss, ready to dive into the claws of danger and terror awaiting in the Capitol. There is much of these threats seen and unseen alike, that inundate the screen in successions of deftly staged sequences that are no less of a visual feasts, and that is the problem. By the time the story has to fold itself into a supposedly satisfying conclusion, the film itself gets lost in its grimness and violence that it forgets to serve itself and its spectators a sense of finality. The last two films are arguably the darkest, being at the end of a trajectory that trails toward a depressing farewell. It stumbles in the end justifying the horrors it has needed to go through, that all those bloody campaigns end up as if they are meaningless.
Ultimately it all goes down to its cast and how they pulled off their material in the best way possible. This franchise, even from the start, has been ridiculously provided with great actors of caliber much better than its material ever deserved, most note-worthy of whom is Jennifer Lawrence, having carried out the character with reasonating dignity and credibility. Towards the end, it only gets difficult to question her commitment to Katniss that even her material itself almost becomes her bane in the end, she manages to pull off the role with palpable capacity. That is true on her part, but it is hard to see how influential her role becomes to the franchise's final moments, considering how the story itself has seemingly disregarded the path it took to reach its end. It just doesn't fit, and makes this final installment even more depressing than it already is.
Picking up from the events where the previous film ended, the film follows District 13's march toward the Capitol, with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), at the forefront standing as the symbol of the rebellion headed by revolutionary President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore). The fire has already gathered blaze, even at the first overly-stretched twenty minutes or so allocated to wait for the smoldering heat to scream its vengeance. At the center of it is Katniss, ready to dive into the claws of danger and terror awaiting in the Capitol. There is much of these threats seen and unseen alike, that inundate the screen in successions of deftly staged sequences that are no less of a visual feasts, and that is the problem. By the time the story has to fold itself into a supposedly satisfying conclusion, the film itself gets lost in its grimness and violence that it forgets to serve itself and its spectators a sense of finality. The last two films are arguably the darkest, being at the end of a trajectory that trails toward a depressing farewell. It stumbles in the end justifying the horrors it has needed to go through, that all those bloody campaigns end up as if they are meaningless.
Ultimately it all goes down to its cast and how they pulled off their material in the best way possible. This franchise, even from the start, has been ridiculously provided with great actors of caliber much better than its material ever deserved, most note-worthy of whom is Jennifer Lawrence, having carried out the character with reasonating dignity and credibility. Towards the end, it only gets difficult to question her commitment to Katniss that even her material itself almost becomes her bane in the end, she manages to pull off the role with palpable capacity. That is true on her part, but it is hard to see how influential her role becomes to the franchise's final moments, considering how the story itself has seemingly disregarded the path it took to reach its end. It just doesn't fit, and makes this final installment even more depressing than it already is.