Throughout ‘The Hunger Games’ series, Jennifer Lawrence has outshone all other actors in the cast through her thoughtful portrayal of Katniss Everdeen. Simultaneously harsh, yet nurturing, stubborn, yet sensitive, this multi-faceted character seems the most human and developed in comparison to her counterparts, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). And it was Katniss who the audience had come to see in this final instalment of the epic, four part series, her story continuing where it had left off in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (part 1)’.
The atmosphere in the cinema was unlike anything I have witnessed before at a film screening: nervous giggles mixed with apprehensive chatter about what how the much loved books were going to be adapted, the entire audience seemed to take a collective intake of breath as the screen darkened and the film began.
I desperately want to say that I held my breath all the way through, that I was kept on the edge of my seat continuously and that I was left exhausted yet satisfied at the end. All that I truly wish I could say, but I cannot for it seems that, finally, The Hunger Games franchise has become too ‘Hollywood’. Huge swathes of the film are taken up with the tributes sprinting through apocalyptic landscapes and extensive fight scenes, which did nothing but demonstrate the large special effects budget for explosions and fire.
There were brilliant moments of tension during the film, most notably the journey of Katniss and her team through the murky, twisting pathways of the sewers, in which every member of the audience waited with baited breath as they peered around each darkened corner, checking for mutts. Yet these moments were few and far between, the director seeming to be more interested in the action packed, noisy fight scenes than the eerie build-ups.
The redeeming factor for the film was the honesty with which the director portrayed Katniss, struggling to negotiate the line between a leading woman of the revolution and a vulnerable girl caught in a war. The fluidity of her character means that she can transition from fist fighting mutts, to kissing a lover, to rallying the troops with ease, creating a character with whom contemporary females can relate, rather than portraying simply a heartless soldier. However, even the previously unfaltering presentation of Katniss took a hit in ‘Mockingjay (part 2)’, as the director failed to capture the magnitude of her breakdown following the taking of the Capitol as well as her post-traumatic stress and physical injury. Admittedly, my disappointment may be due to the fact that I have such strong feelings for the books and that I built up too much hype for the films, yet I cannot help but feel like presenting the deteriorating mental health of the Mockingjay following the war would have provided a striking and much needed change from the traditional all-conquering hero we are so used to seeing on the big screen. Presenting the long-term effects of war in this way would also have shed some light and created some much needed empathy for the horrific ordeals that civilians are living through in warzones in our own world, such as Syria.
One of the most poignant moments of the film was not the taking of the Capitol, but Plutarch’s final words to Katniss. The way in which the film would deal with the tragic death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman has been subject to much speculation over the past few months, but his parting letter to Katniss, rather than the character appearing in person, fit perfectly with the storyline as well as allowing both the characters and the audience to say a moving goodbye to such an important character.
The film was nevertheless, fast paced and full of action and I hope that those who have not read the books will enjoy it more than myself.