The rebellion is here. Snow’s end is coming. The Capitol will fall.
This is war.
The Story
Katniss has one goal: kill Snow.
Her goal is tainted with lies and deceit; friends turn into enemies and enemies turn into allies. No one is safe and there’s no way to know what’s real and not real. Katniss, Gale, Peeta and the rest of Panem need to determine who is for them and who is against them.
Picking up where Part I finished, we see Katniss recovering physically and mentally from Peeta’s grasp – or more accurately, The Capitol’s grasp. Following Suzanne Collins’s book closely, this final instalment to The Hunger Games franchise has you at the edge of your seat from start to finish.
There are no surprises for those who’ve read the book. Director, Francis Lawrence, accurately portrays every aspect of Collins’s devastatingly dark finale. I cannot wait to have a Hunger-Games-Marathon when the DVD / Blu-ray box set comes out next year.
The Cast
Jennifer Lawrence closes this trilogy with the same prowess that she harnessed in the first film. Josh Hutcherson grew into his character and gave us the Peeta that we all know and love from the books. Donald Sutherland continued to captivate you as his icy, yet truthful portrayal of tyranny came falling graciously.
Liam Hemsworth, along with Sam Claflin both get two thumbs up for their incredible performances – and keeping their American accents well in-tact. It was nice to see Gale’s more emotional side in this film and Claflin gave Finnick a beautiful (*SPOILER ALERT* for non-readers) send-off with his incredible fight sequence, fighting “Capitol Mutts” powered by special effects – not to mention being waterlogged and underground.
Julianne Moore and Willow Shields also get honourable mentions for their incredible commitment to bringing iconic characters to life. (*ANOTHER Spoiler Alert*) Shields gave an incredible salute to her character as she gave the camera one last look of innocence to spoil the one connection that Gale and Katniss truly had – a promise to keep her family safe. Moore gave everything she had in order to become the new voice of autocracy. She gave a beautiful performance in order for Katniss to destroy all spectacles.
As a whole, the cast (including: Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, along with Paula Malcomson, Stanley Tucci, Jeffrey Wright and Jena Malone) all deserve ★★★★★ for their performances over the last four years. Their dedication to bringing this trilogy to life was incredible.
Overall, this ending is bittersweet for this film enthusiast. I have enjoyed watching every movie that they’ve produced for this franchise, but I am also glad that they were able to close the franchise with a proper goodbye. It’s not just a message about strength and having a voice, it’s also about learning from the past in order to prevent damage for the future – a message we all desperately need to hear.
sL Star Rating: ★★★★★
Next on sL: WRITING HIATUS
Hey Guys!
I'm heading off to the U.S.A. for the holidays, so I won't have anything for you until the New Year. But if you go to my YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/strictlyLeisure), I'm sure to have great adventures to share with you!
Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year!
Love always,
sL xxx