Young Adult Month - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2

In the not too distant future, after a disaster takes place

A nerdy guy with Rage Issues, among the last of the human race

He was just a media nerd, he ranted a lot, it was quite absurd

But he was special for some reason, so bad men decided it was Rage Issues season

He’ll star in 3 movies, 4 if we squeeze him dry

He’ll go and join a rebel force, as he’ll slowly lose his mind

Now keep in mind, he’s just a guy, no different from you or me

So, he’ll have to learn how to survive, with the help of YA Movies

Franchise Roll call:

The Hunger Games

The Maze Runner

Diiiiiiiivergent

If you’re wondering how he posts his thoughts, and who he’s posting for

Repeat to yourself, it’s just a theme, and stop thinking any more

It’s Young Adult Month!

Part 2 of Mockingjay was the least successful Hunger Games movie, earning $650m on it’s $160m budget. You could argue this was a souring towards YA movies in general, as both of the next franchises would see diminishing returns towards the end of their run, but it could also be the problem of splitting this book into 2 parts.

The critical reception was only slightly improved with a 70% Rotten Tomatoes rating with an average 6.5/10, the audience score went down to 66%, with an average 3.6/5.

Katniss is still reeling from the events at the end of the last movie. Peeta’s rescue is soured somewhat by the fact he’s been conditioned to hate her and perceive her as a threat. Doctors are trying to help him through but they’re not confident for a swift recovery. Katniss helps the rebellion claim District 2 but at this point President Coin says she’s fulfilled her purpose and won’t send her to the Capitol for the final assault.

Wanting more than ever to be the one who kills Snow, she stows away and finds herself in the Capitol, but is soon made to be doing war-time promos as opposed to doing actual fighting. But President Snow has activated pods throughout the city, making every step they take a death trap, and making matters worse, Peeta, now slightly recovered, is assigned to their unit.

Suzanne Collins is clearly a talented writer and it’s worth noting this story is not a conventional hero’s journey. Katniss is not a hero, she does have some heroic morals like a value for human life but she spends most of this movie and also the book hellbent on revenge, and getting a lot of good people killed in the process. Her journey is committing one selfless act and being dragged into a world where she quickly loses control over her own narrative.

I say this because whilst I enjoy both the film and the book, it does feel like Katniss isn’t integral to the story anymore, even if it follows her perspective. A lot of major large-scale plot-points would’ve happened with her or without. She spends most of the 2 preceding films being used by other people for their own ends, and in this film, where she decides to take her own action for the first time it ends in total failure.

This franchise is not a happy one, it doesn’t glorify the violence that takes place in it, and focuses a lot on the emotional toll it takes on people. For this reason, my first complaint about the film is Gale, whose descent into the ‘whatever it takes’ mentality is covered in only the most bare-bones way. The death of Prim at the hands of a weapon Gale may have had a hand in creating was the straw that broke the camel’s back when it comes to their relationship, and it’s done a great disservice by this character work being largely omitted.

Peeta’s character is largely unchanged in the adaption process, but without access to her internal thoughts, Katniss’ reaction to it is changed. In the book she never really makes an effort with Peeta until she’s asked what Peeta would do in her position, she realises then that he’d do whatever it took and vows to do the same, it’s at this point where Peeta starts to make marked improvements which makes his brief turn during the action more surprising.

The weird white Zombie things are horrific, kudos to the CGI team for that. The direction remains solid as it had in the previous movies, with performances from Donald Sutherland as President Snow, Mahershala Ali as Boggs, Eldin Henson as Pollyx and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in his last role as Plutarch Heavensbee before his death.

President Coin was a lot subtler in the books. She definitely shared some unfortunate elements in common with Snow, but the movie made it lot clearer that it was Coin who arranged the bombing of children and the death of Prim, whereas it’s a scenario that hung precariously with Katniss in the book. She also doesn’t suggest herself being President indefinitely in the books. Katniss choosing to shoot her comes off much more as a moral grey in that regard.

The ending of the book was not a happy one, it’s fairly clear that Katniss never got over here experiences in the war and finds what comfort she can in Peeta and her children, it’s a little more nuanced in the film, she certainly isn’t completely changed but she seems more content and even dared to be happy on occasion. I don’t know if this was intentional but it’s a welcomed change, it doesn’t entirely change the message from the book, but makes it a bit more palatable.

Mockingjay part 2 has a lot of action in it, even if it doesn’t really follow the war efforts. It has a lot of the flaws from the book and really should’ve done more with Gale but ultimately felt like a satisfying conclusion to the Hunger Games series, with strong performances throughout.

Rating 70/100