The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

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“Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” felt rushed and drawn out

The highly anticipated conclusion to the Hunger Games franchise, “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” debuted on Nov. 20 and was ranked no. 1 at the box office its opening weekend; though the film itself did not live up to its box office results.
Out of the four total movies this final instalment brought in the least amount of revenue.
Starting right off where the first part commenced, Katniss Everdeen leaves District 13 with her allies to assassinate President Snow which, in turn, will hopefully liberate the good people of Panem from his dictatorship.
“Mockingjay Part 2” is another example on why breaking up a film into two parts is never a good idea for anyone besides the studios who are putting up the money for the production of the films.
This easily could have been one film that focused more on the characters then the stretching out of certain scenes that didn’t need to be drawn out for pacing reasons.
Even with all of the star power of A-list actors and actresses, it does not hide the fact that this film was a studio film.
Developing characters just did not seem like an option with this film. Every character seemed more like a plot device rather than an actual character with real thoughts and arcs.
Even so, Jennifer Lawrence, as always, is the one saving grace of this franchise and continues to make a name for herself playing Katniss Everdeen to her fullest potential.
However, the rest of the cast was mostly wasted.
Getting few to no scenes for the A-list actors and actresses to chew up, it becomes apparent that they were just there because the script called for them to be.
They did not actually play a part in the storyline.
Specifically speaking Finnick, the scene stealer in the second entry in the series, Catching Fire.
His screen time was significantly dwindled here, which is a shame.
His character is fascinating, but wasn’t shown in this entry in the franchise because of how little screen time he got.
This was a film that did not know how to expand upon the potential of the first two films in the series.
The first “Hunger Games” was well made for the most part, whilst the sequel, “Catching Fire” pulled a “Terminator 2” with being surprisingly effective as both a film and continuation of the series.
Both films don’t feel as though much detail was put into them and actually feel oddly rushed and drawn out at the same time.
Even with all that in mind, the production design does have flair to it.
Sets looked just as the book’s author, Suzanne Collins, described in her best sellers.
The entire movie seemed as if a grey filter was placed over it to enforce a somber tone.
Some gory death scenes were a bit more tastefully presented in the film, reasoning for this is believed to be to keep the PG-13 rating.
The music, as always, by James Newton Howard does not disappoint in the slightest.
As an overall film though, “Mockingjay Part 2” is mediocre and not worth your ticket of admission. Wait to watch it for free and or at Redbox.
“Mockingjay Part 2” was directed by Fancise Laurence, who is known for several other works including: “Constantine” (2005), starring Keanu Reeves and Shia LaBeouf as well as“I Am Legend” (2007), starring Will Smith.
Sean O’ Connel of Cinemablend released a review of the film, stating, “Mockingjay goes out with a series of bangs (literally), but an ultimate whimper, as the payoffs promised in the previous three features arrive with a fizzle. Where’s the rousing finale?”