The Plot

With Panem at the tipping point of a revolution, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her army make their final push into the Capitol to deal with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) once and for all.

The Good

Picking up from right where Part 1 left off, with Katniss sporting a badly bruised neck thanks to Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and his drastically changed views of the girl on fire, Mockingjay Part 2 switches the dialogue heavy scenes from its predecessor and replaces it with action heavy set sequences. As Katniss and co make their way into the Capitol to take down President Snow, director Francis Lawrence takes us through a battle torn landscape overground and underground.

It’s the underground sequence that works best however, as the characters manoeuvre through a labyrinth-like sewer system while being stalked and attacked by creatures not too dissimilar to zombies. The entire sequence plays out with a suspense filled with deafening silences before breaking out into frenzied crescendos.

However, the action sequences are not the only thing Mockingjay Part 2 has going for it. Being the much anticipated conclusion to the series, the political and social subtext that held the series together comes much more into the forefront thanks to incredible performances by not only Sutherland who returns with the enticingly quiet demeanour of the ruthless President Snow, but also Julianne Moore who plays the yin to Snow’s yang in President Coin. Though Moore is no match for Sutherland having only had one prior film to establish her character as apposed to the three that Sutherland got, her development towards the third act of this final instalment has just as much effect.

The Bad

Though the action sequences are big and boisterous, most feel empty, while the set pieces look like they’ve been taken from maps in Call of Duty. An emptiness is also felt in the lack of emotion to certain characters fates in the story and Lawrences reaction to them.

Yet again Liam Hemsworth is left with little to do when the story focuses on the love triangle between himself, Lawrence and Hutcherson but, this late into the franchise it doesn’t feel like too much of a loss.

The Ugly Truth

Ending with a whimper after a couple of hours of bangs is perhaps not the best way to finish off this hit series for fans, however Mockingjay Part 2 stays relatively true to its source and brings some noteworthy performances particularly from Moore and Sutherland while failing to bring as much emotion as it had succeeded in previously.

Review by Johnny Ellis