The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 2

Director: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay: Peter Craig and Danny Strong (adaptation by Suzanne Collins; based on her novel Mockingjay)
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne), Woody Harrelson (Haymitch Abernathy), Donald Sutherland (President Snow), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Plutarch Heavensbee), Julianne Moore (President Alma Coin), Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen), Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair), Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket), Mahershala Ali (Boggs), Jena Malone (Johanna Mason), Jeffrey Wright (Beetee), Paula Malcomson (Katniss’ Mother), Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Year of Release: 2015
Country: U.S.
The Hunger Games: Complete 4-Film Collection Blu-ray + Digital HD
The Hunger GamesWhen I wrote about The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 1, I noted that the film suffered from having too much set-up for what we could only hope would be payoff in Part 2. Well, the payoff is there in Part 2, but it’s mixed. The first half is a long, speech-heavy slog similar to Part 1, but then it picks up pace and energy via a few nifty action sequences and a growing thematic undercurrent about the ugly nature of war and how despotism persists because despots are usually replaced by other despots in the temporary disguise of altruistic liberators. Unfortunately, action and theme don’t always cohere, and what’s good in the film too often has to be dug out from under a lot of underwhelming excess.

As the fourth film in the Hunger Games series, all of which are based on the dystopian sci-fi novels by Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay–Part 2 picks up right where the earlier episode left off, with the much-put-upon teen heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) having just returned from a raid to rescue Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), her fellow Hunger Games partner and potential romantic interest who had been kidnapped by the nefarious President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and brainwashed for propaganda purposes (if none of that made any sense to you, you clearly haven’t read the books or seen the previously three films, so this review is probably of no interest to you anyway). The revolution against Snow’s despotic regime is gaining momentum, as rebel forces led by the dissident President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) are descending on the Capitol, where the wealthy elite of the futuristic country Panem have previously lived the good life while the other 12 Districts worked to their benefit.

The first part of the film contains a great deal of hand-wringing over Peeta’s condition (and whether he can even be thought of as Peeta anymore) and plans for how the rebel forces will take the Capitol and depose President Snow, while Katniss continues to find her way into the arms of Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), her childhood friend and other romantic interest. Other familiar faces come and go, mostly with minimal impact, including Woody Harrelson’s survivor-turned-trainer Haymitch Abernathy, Elizabeth Banks’s public relations guru Effie Trinket, and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s rebel propagandist Plutarch Heavensbee, although the latter is notably absent for much of the film given that Hoffman’s tragic death occurred in the middle of production. Other familiar Hunger Games survivors are also present, including Jena Malone’s Johanna Mason and Jeffrey Wright’s Beetee.

Much of the action in the second half of the film involves Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and a small group of rebels attempting to infiltrate the Capitol on a supposedly safe propaganda mission, although it turns deadly when Snow booby-traps the deserted city streets with movement-sensing explosives, flame-throwers, massive machine guns, and, in one instance, hundreds of thousands of gallons of some kind of lethal oil. The film’s best sequence finds them trying to navigate their way to the President’s mansion using the sewer system, only to find that Snow has unleashed into the sewers a small army of what appear to be the same blind, gnashing mutants from The Descent (2006). Once the mutants are on the rampage, the action is fairly pro-forma, but the lead-up is a goosey exercise in sustained silence and suspense, which is very similar to what returning director Francis Lawrence achieved in the best moments of I Am Legend (2007). The logic of the mutants makes no sense whatsoever, but it works in the moment as an isolated setpiece.

However, if there is a fundamental problem with Mockingjay–Part 2, it is that it feels constructed entirely of isolated setpieces that never quite cohere, possibly because they all too often fail to link up with the underlying themes about the savage interrelations between political machinations, war mongering, and showbiz flair. Katniss’s mission and its parameters keep changing out of narrative necessity, which creates a kind of disjointed experience that works in fits and starts, but not as a consistent whole (the danger of splitting the novel into two long movies is definitely felt here, as both end up feeling bloated and uneven in their pacing).

Thankfully, Katniss is able to shed her role as pawn from the previous film and once again assert herself as a forthright action heroine intent on pursuing her own agenda. Jennifer Lawrence has been playing the role for so long that there isn’t anything particularly revelatory about her performance, although she does have several nice moments in which she displays a kind of vulnerability and exhaustion that befits the final entry in the long-running series. This is particularly true of the film’s final moments, which, while bathed in Terrence Malick-esque magic hour lighting and staged in a spot of almost unreal pastoral beauty, still pays respect to the fact that the violence and death required to get the characters to that time and place are not easily forgotten. Nightmares persist, even when evils have been vanquished.

The Hunger Games Complete 4-Film Collection
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 2 is available as part of “The Hunger Games Complete 4-Film Collection” boxset, which also includes The Hunger Games (2012), Catching Fire (2013), and Mockingjay—Part 1 (2014). All four films are also available on Blu-ray and DVD separately.
Aspect Ratio2.40:1
Audio
  • English Dolby Atmos
  • English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround
  • Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
  • SubtitlesEnglish, Spanish
    SupplementsThe Hunger Games

    On Separate Blu-ray Disc:

  • The World is Watching: Making The Hunger Games making-of documentary
  • “Game Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Phenomenon” featurette
  • “Letters from the Rose Garden” featurette
  • “Controlling the Games” featurette
  • “A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell” featurette
  • “Preparing for the Games: A Director’s Process” featurette
  • “Propaganda Film” featurette
  • Theatrical trailers
  • Poster gallery
  • Photo gallery.

    On Complete 4-Disc Collection Bonus Disc:

  • The World is Watching: Making The Hunger Games documentary
  • “Game Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Phenomenon” featurette
  • “Letters from the Rose Garden” featurette
  • “Controlling the Games” featurette
  • “A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell” featurette
  • “Preparing for the Games: A Director’s Process” featurette
  • “Propaganda Film” featurette
  • “Stories from the Tributes” featurette
  • “Casting the Tributes” featurette
  • “Tribute Video Diaries” featurette
  • “Photo Album” featurette
  • “Stunts of The Hunger Games” featurette
  • “Capitol Couture: The Styles of Panem” featurette
  • “Weapons of the Arena” featurette
  • “Effected: The Visual Artwork of The Hunger Games” featurette
  • “Feast and Famine: Creating the Food for The Hunger Games” featurette
  • “On the Black Carpet: The Hunger GamesPremiere” featurette
  • 12 deleted scenes
  • Theatrical trailers
  • Tribute biographies
  • Poster gallery
  • Photo gallery

    The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

    On Blu-ray Disc:

  • Audio commentary by director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson.
  • Surviving the Game: Making The Hunger Games: Catching Fire making-of documentary
  • Deleted scenes

    On Complete 4-Disc Collection Bonus Disc:

  • “The Alliance: Returning Cast” featurette
  • “Friend or Foe: New Cast” featurette
  • “One Vision: A Faithful Adaptation” featurette
  • “The Look of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” featurette
  • “The Quarter Quell Cast” featurette
  • “Bringing Panem to Life” featurette
  • “Taking Aim: Stunts and Weapons” featurette
  • “The Quell: On Location in Hawaii” featurette
  • “Battling the Clock Arena” featurette
  • “Capitol Cuisine” featurette
  • “Inside District 12: The Hob” featurette
  • Deleted scene
  • Coldplay “Atlas” music video

    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 1

    On Blu-ray Disc

  • Audio commentary by director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson
  • “Hope and Rebellion: Continuing the Saga” featurette
  • “Designing Dystopia: Visual Aesthetic” featurette
  • “Rebels and Warriors: The Cast” featurette
  • “Fusing Form and Function: Costume, Make-Up and Hair” featurette
  • “Fighting the System: Shooting on Location” featurette
  • “D13: Rebellion Tactics: Stunts and Special Effects” featurette
  • “Perfecting Panem: The Post-Production Process” featurette
  • “Straight from the Heart: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman” featurette
  • “Songs of Rebellion: Lorde on Creating the Soundtrack” featurette
  • Deleted scenes
  • Lorde “Yellow Flicker Beat” music video

    On Complete 4-Disc Collection Bonus Disc:

  • “Rubble and Ashes” featurette
  • “Utilitarian Chic” featurette
  • “The Propos Team” featurette
  • “Combat Zone” featurette
  • “Katniss Propo Video” featurette
  • “Picturing Panem” photo gallery

    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 2

    On Blu-ray Disc:

  • Audio Commentary by director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson
  • “Walking Through Fire: Concluding the Saga” featurette
  • “Real or Not Real: Visual Design” featurette
  • “High-Value Targets: The Acting Ensemble” featurette
  • “From Head to Toe: Costume, Make-up & Hair” featurette
  • “Navigating the Minefield: Production in Atlanta, Paris & Berlin” featurette
  • “Collateral Damage: Stunts, Special Effects & Weapons” featurette
  • “Tightening the Noose: The Post-Production Process” featurette
  • “A Different World: Reflections” featurette
  • The Hunger Games: A Photographic Journey” featurette
  • “Cinna’s Sketchbook: Secrets of the Mockingjay Armor” featurette
  • “Panem on Display: The Hunger Games: The Exhibition” featurette
  • “Jet to the Set” TV special
  • DistributorLionsgate
    SRP$64.97 (boxset)
    Release DateMarch 22, 2016

    VIDEO & AUDIO
    The first three films in the “Complete 4-Film Collection” Blu-ray boxset are simply repackaging of the previously existing discs, which have already been thoroughly reviewed, so I will limit this discussion to the one new disc in the set, Mockingjay–Part 2. Unlike its immediate predecessor, Part 2 is a much more open film in terms of location (Part 1 took place primarily underground and at night, which made it the darkest and moodiest of the four films). Part 2 has action that takes place all over—from the ashen, bombed-out streets of the Capitol, to the snow-covered Presidential Mansion and its golden-hued interiors, to the verdant forests of District 12. The 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer handles all of the visuals extremely well, with plenty of detail and contrast. The film was shot digitally on the Arri Alexa, so it definitely has a hard-edged look to it, but it is in keeping with the overall aesthetic of last two films in the series (The Hunger Games and Catching Fire were both shot on 35mm celluloid, which gives them a slightly different look from the two Mockingjay films). Black levels and shadow detail are good, which benefit those creepy scenes down in the Capitol sewer, although at times the frame is a bit too dark and murky. As with the Blu-ray for Part 1, Mockingjay–Part 2 includes a stellar Dolby Atmos surround soundtrack (although it does not have the DTS HeadphoneX track). The film’s action sequences are fully immersive, with bullets and debris whizzing by you from all directions, and the explosions have a chair-rattling thunder to them. The soundtrack is also excellent in the quieter, more discreet moments, such as the suspenseful build-up to the action in the sewer. All in all, an excellent technical presentation.
    SUPPLEMENTS
    Where, oh where, to begin? Let’s just say that the six-disc “Complete 4-Film Collection” Blu-ray boxset has enough supplementary material to keep diehard Hunger Games fans busy (the press release notes that there are more than 14 hours of supplements included, a good chunk of which is new to this release). Since the Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay–Part 1 discs are all repackaged from their initial releases, they also include all of the original supplements (The Hunger Games actually has a separate Blu-ray disc with all of its supplements, while the next two films have the movie and supplements sharing a single disc). The boxset also includes the newly released Mockingjay–Part 2 and all of its supplements, as well as a separate “Bonus Features” disc of supplements that, somewhat confusingly, duplicates some material from the original releases in addition to adding a bunch of new stuff. To keep this review manageable, I will be focusing only on the supplements on the Mockingjay–Part 2 disc and the new material on the “Bonus Features” disc.

    As with Catching Fire and Mockingjay–Part 1, Mockingjay–Part 2 includes an informative audio commentary by director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson, who once again talk through the enormity of the production process and how the film came together. Their discussion is lively and engaging and packed with detail that fans of the series will appreciate.

    Also in keeping with the previous Hunger Games discs, this one has a massive making-of documentary. Under the title Pawns No More: The Making of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 2, it is composed of eight separate featurettes, which together run nearly two and a half hours. All of the featurettes include extensive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with almost every major figure from the cast and crew. “Walking Through Fire: Concluding the Saga” focuses on the film’s narrative and how the final installment draws together all of the series’ pertinent themes; “Real or Not Real” focuses on the film’s visual design, beginning with the actual design process and anaimatics and then how the world of the film was brought to life in terms of physical locations, created sets, and practical and digital effects; “High-Value Targets” looks at the always impressive cast assembled for the film, while “From Head to Toe” shows us how they were made up into their unique characters through make-up and costuming; “Navigating the Minefield” explores the extensive physical location work (usually augmented with huge blue and green screens) in and around Atlanta, Paris (which provided both a chateau and housing projects), and Berlin (which provided abandoned military barracks that were turned into the bombed-out Capitol); “Collateral Damage” gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s stunts and special effects; “Tightening the Noose” surveys the extensive post-production process; and, finally, “A Different World” offers reflections on the series and its popularity and impact.

    The Hunger Games: A Photographic Journey” is a fascinating interview with on-set photographer Murray Close, whose career began with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). He talks about what it’s like working as a photographer on the sets of some of Hollywood’s biggest films (in addition to all of the Hunger Games films, he has worked on Tim Burton’s Batman, several Spielberg films including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Jurassic Park, and several entries in the X-Men and Harry Potter franchises), as well as the differences between film and digital and how he works with the film’s cinematographer to capture both publicity stills and behind-the-scenes images. “Cinna’s Sketchbook: Secrets of the Mockingjay Armor” is an interview with costume designers Bart Mueller and Kurt Swanson about the design book, briefly glimpsed in the movie, that Cinna created for Katniss’s Mockingjay armor and their work on that costume, while “Panem on Display: The Hunger Games: The Exhibition” is a very brief look at the elaborate, multimedia Hunger Games exhibition that opened in 2015 at San Francisco’s Palace of the Fine Arts and the reaction of the film’s cast and crew to experiencing it. And, finally, the disc includes Jet to the Set, a 41-minute television special that aired on CBS prior to the film’s release. Hosted with much fanfare by Entertainment Tonight’s Carly Steel and Hot in Hollywood’s Laurie Feltheimer, it is a kind of behind-the-scenes travelogue that takes you to the film’s primary locations throughout Atlanta, including The Victor’s Training Center, President Snow’s Mansion, and the 75th Hunger Games Cornucopia, as well as the various places throughout the city where the stars dined and shopped while they weren’t working on the film.

    Now, on to the “Bonus Features” disc, which houses several hours worth of new supplementary material covering various aspects of the first three films in the series. The vast majority of this material is new to the boxset, although some of it is repeated from earlier Blu-ray releases. From the list above, you can see that there is a lot of stuff here, so I will restrict myself to hitting a few of the highlights of what is new and notable for each film.

    For The Hunger Games, “Tribute Video Diaries” is an interesting 17-minute featurette in which seven of the young actors who played tributes in the film recorded video diaries of their experiences during the promotional push between the time when they wrapped filming and the movie’s premiere, while “Stunts of The Hunger Games” shows both rehearsals and behind-the-scenes footage during some of the bigger stunt sequences. And, for fans of Victorian Era-meets-’80s New Wave, there is the 18-minute featurette “Capitol Couture: The Styles of Panem,” which gives a fairly in-depth look at the film’s radical costume designs for the Capital denizens. There are also new featurettes about the weapons in the film, the design of the food we see the characters eating on screen, and visual effects—pretty much every facet of the film’s production is covered in some form or fashion. Probably the biggest new inclusion here, though, are 12 never-before-seen deleted scenes, which together run about 21 minutes. Most of these are direct extensions of scenes already in the film (for example, we see exactly what nightmare Prim was waking from at the beginning) or longer versions of existing scenes, which suggests that most of the footage was cut to trim the running time and help pacing, rather than discard subplots.

    There are also quite a few new supplements for Catching Fire, several of which are definitely worth watching, although most of them are pretty short and don’t go much beneath the surface (remember that there is a 2+-hour making of documentary on the main disc, so that’s not much of a criticism). Of particular interest is the 13-minute featurette “One Vision: A Faithful Adaptation,” in which director Francis Lawrence, producers Nina Jacobson and John Kilik, Scholastic publisher David Levithan, and members of the cast, discuss how hard they worked to stay true to Suzanne Collins’s novel in their adaptation (interestingly, none of the actual screenwriters are interviewed ...). If you combine the 3-minute “The Look of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and the 6-minute “Bringing Panem to Life” featurettes, you will have a pretty good exploration of the how the film’s look was put together via costume and production design and visual effects. There is also a never-before-seen deleted scene, but given that it is less than 40 seconds long and never made it past the greenscreen stage, there isn’t much to see there. Fans of Coldplay will appreciate the inclusion of their “Atlas” music video, though.

    And, finally, we arrive at the new material for Mockingjay–Part 1, which is the lightest of the three. There are a handful of new featurettes, including “Utilitarian Chic,” a good 14-minute look the film’s production design and special effects, and “Combat Zone,” a 12-minute featurette that explores the larger war that becomes the subject of the final two films in the series.

    Copyright ©2016 James Kendrick

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    All images copyright © Lionsgate

    Overall Rating: (2.5)




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