Mockingjay - Part 2: A Bittersweet Finale

I dearly loved The Hunger Games books and the movies. Therefore, I approached the finale, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, with a heavy heart, knowing it would be my last chance to spend time with Katnis Everdeen. Unfortunately, like the final book, the final movie couldn't measure up to its predecessors. While it's a decent film, it didn't meet my impossibly high expectations.

The movie picks up with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) in the sick bay, trying to get her voice back after being violently strangled by the brainwashed Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Furious at the Capitol for turning the gentle Peeta into a monster, Katniss throws herself into the Rebel cause, going into battle to help turn all the remaining Districts against the Capitol and bring down President Snow once and for all. Like the previous movies, this one is meticulously faithful to the books, following Katniss's crusade, President Coin's careful manipulation of the Rebel propaganda machine, and the subsequent heart-pounding race through the booby-trapped Capitol, which serves as an arena for the series' bitter conclusion. The action sequences are spot-on and director Francis Lawrence is able to ratchet up the tension and fear at every moment. Even when you know what's coming, you're not quite sure when and how it will happen, and there are enough visceral surprises to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Where the movie fails is in its emotional moments. The dialogue feels far too corny and stilted, prosaic in comparison to the distinctly unnatural events taking place in the rest of the movie. The actors are all delivering fantastic performances, but the script doesn't pack the emotional heft of the previous films. Part of this might be due to the movie's incredibly grim tone. There is absolutely no comic relief on offer this time around - everyone is angry or defeated and even the garish colors of the Capitol have been darkened by war. When faced with the relentless onslaught of death and destruction, it is impossible to care any more about the Katniss-Gale-Peeta love triangle or take refuge in the bittersweet hope offered at the end. Too many people have died and the war has taken its toll. While the characters have years to recover and regain some sense of optimism by the movie's coda, the audience doesn't have that luxury.

The Hunger Games tells an extremely powerful story and I exhort everyone to read the books and watch these films. While I may not have enjoyed the ending, the more I think about it, the more it seems destined to be a story that will always be unsatisfying. A series that begins with the premise of children killing each other in an arena for sport cannot possibly end with the words, "and they lived happily ever after." The finale delivered by the author, Suzanne Collins, and the film's director, Francis Lawrence, offers up the only palatable conclusion. Even if the world isn't perfect, Katniss must remind herself of all the goodness she has seen; after all, "there are much worse games to play."