måndag 28 december 2015

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Movie adaptations of novels can be tricky to make. Either you follow the book, or make a film based on the book, using most of the details and make some changes. One of the problems sometimes is that some directors, does not even follow the book at all. There are plenty of examples of movie adaptations, but we don´t need to get into details. What is most important if you are making a movie, based on a beloved book, make sure you know the material. I remember back in 2012, i was hearing a lot of talk about a movie adaptation of Hunger Games, by author Suzanne Collins. I remember my first reaction, i hope this is not another Twilight inspired film, with cheesy acting and a terrible storyline. Not excited about this movie adaption, i still decided to give it a try, especially because Jennifer Lawrence was in the lead role. As i walked out of the theatre, i was pleasantly surprised. This film was in many ways a really well made teenage action movie, but with a much more emotional level than any of the Twilight films. The character Katniss Everdeen, felt like a freedom fighter, that really wanted to make things right, when the world is falling apart. As the sequel Catching Fire came out, we got a really good sequel in our hands. The biggest reason why Catching Fire turned out so well was because of Jennifer Lawrence, she is an amazing actor. From the first moment i saw her do a fantastic performance in Winter´s Bone, i was bedazzled. You could tell that, for her young age, she knew exactly what acting is all about. She also proved herself once again, doing another really wonderful performance in Silver Linings Playbook. Both of these films prove that she is one of the best actors of our time. If you thought she would stop here, she proved herself again in American Hustle by director David O. Russel. Just her presence on screen, makes you feel warm inside. She is without a doubt one of my favourite actors, and i have a feeling that she will continue to deliver wonderful performances. When i watched Mockingjay Part 1 in a cinema, the first part of the final Hunger Cames film, i was really dissapointed, And it was not Jennifer Lawrence fault, she did do her performance well, but the film was not what i expected. Boring, slow and uninspiring, are just some of the problems with the first part of Mockingjay. I remember walking out of the cinema, hoping that the next chapter would change everything, that was wrong with Part 1. While i was in Stockholm in december, i got a chance to see the final film Mockingjay Part 2 in their brand new IMAX cinema. Since i was curious on both this final film, and to experience a film in an IMAX format, i made sure to get hold on tickets. Since i felt dissapointed with the first Mockinjay film, is this finally a worthy last chapter of the well made Hunger Games films, or is this another dissapointment ?

Katniss Everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence ) is recovering after her being attacked by Peeta Mellark ( Josh Hutcherson ), who was brainwashed by the Capitol. The rebels attack and disable the Capitol´s weapon arsenal in District 2. Katniss tries to rally the loyalists against the Capitol, but ends up being shot, and injured, in the confrontation. Despite that Katniss plan to kill President Snow ( Donald Sutherland ), personally, she is stopped by President Alma Coin ( Julianne Moore ). She will not allow Katniss to join into the battle against Snow. Instead, Alma Coin assign Katniss on the " Star Squad " with Gale Hawthorne ( Liam Hemsworth ), Finnick Odair ( Sam Claflin ) and Cressida ( Natalie Dormer ). Their mission is to go inside the Capitol invasion, providing with video of their incursion for propaganda purposes. Alma also sends Peeta Mellark ( Josh Hutcherson ) to join the squad, including Boggs ( Mahershala Ali ), who is chosen to be the team leader. Even if Katniss knows the rules, she is still planning to stop the tyranny of President Snow. With this team, she might have a bigger chance to end this misery, before more innocent people are killed.

If you have read my earlier reviews of The Hunger Games films, you might have noticed my low rating for Mockingjay Part 1. I might have been one of the most hard critics on that film, but there was a good reason for it. Mockinjay Part 1 was so damn boring, so it did not matter if the acting was good. The other Hunger Games films managed to keep me interested, while Mockingjay Part 1 felt drawn out. It is not a bad movie, i just don´t feel that it was a worthy part 1 of this final film. Luckily, after seeing Mockingjay Part 2, i can say that director Francis Lawrence must have listened. The action is much more brutal, the action scenes are much more detailed, and we do get to see a much more tougher side of Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence proves once again why she is perfect in the lead role, she is absolutely splendid as Katniss, and here in Mockingjay Part 2 she is more tough than ever. While Part 1 moved slow, and had a lot of dialogue, Part 2 manage to move away and go more for pure action. And this is one of the reasons why i really enjoyed this final film, we needed a big last chapter. There are many great acting performances here, especially from Julianne Moore and Donald Sutherland. The young cast also does very well, and this is one of the strength of The Hunger Games movie adaptations. They really made sure that they needed to act good, instead of doing the same mistake that the Twilight films did. One of my absolute favourite scenes in Mockingjay Part 2 is down in the Capitol sewer, where they try and get away from beasts known as " mutts ". They almost look like a mixture of the mutated vampires of Blade 2, and the action in these scenes are really well made. I was watching this in an IMAX theatre, and i just loved to see this in this format. Another really great scene, is in the end, when Katniss head towards the Snow mansion, while people are being killed in the streets. you can tell that director Francis Lawrence wanted to make sure that we would have a final battle, in a big way. The ending is not good, way to cheesy, and i suppose that it was done this way, just to make it simple. But overall, this is a really good ending of The Hunger Games, and Jennifer Lawrence is the biggest reason why these films are so good. Mockingjay Part 2 will definetely please the fans, and the audiences, if you were hoping for a hard hitting final chapter. Do not remake The Hunger Games, did you hear that Hollywood ? Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen on the big screen, and nothing will ever change that. I am really looking forward to see Lawrence in her latest film Joy in cinemas, i might actually see it next week if i get the time. Until then, make sure you see this final chapter, i guarantee you will be much more pleased with this one, compared to Mockingjay Part 1.

Rating: DDDD

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