White Roses

I've been a fan of The Hunger Games films. I loved the first two books, but not the last one. I was hoping that the film could elevate the bad source material. This last film is still directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson and an array of amazing supporting cast like Julianne Moore, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks. I had an okay-ish expectation for this film and the promotional material for this film doesn't hype me so, so I wasn't all that hyped. And most importantly, the movie scored a day-and-date release date for Japan that hasn't been seen since February's Fifty Shades of Grey, which is weird. The next day-and-date is more sensible though, you know, that film about people carrying long lightsticks they use as swords.

The film picked up right where Part 1 left off, after Katniss' being strangled by the Manchurian Candidate Peeta. Katniss then swore to kill President Snow herself and go to the Capitol. But rebel leader President Coin still wants her to be the symbol so she went with the star team, which is a waste of talent, considering you really need to fight and these guys know how to fight. President Snow knows this plan and rigged The Capitol with traps and weapons ala his annual Hunger Games.

If you hear other fans of other YA complained about how the Divergent series and Maze Runner series deviate totally from the book, you won't hear that with this The Hunger Games. The films have been so faithful to the book that even a crucial moment that I hoped to be more clarified is just like in the book. But not that it's a bad thing, because as a whole this film is great. From the performance, I almost forgot how I love Jennifer Lawrence in her usual kick-ass, awesome-acting mode and at last, I'm sold by Josh Hutcherson's acting in this film. However, Liam Hemsworth should consult his Norse God brother on how to share the screen with acting greats like people in this film. Donald Sutherland is creepily good and Julianne Moore is just as good. I also loved the fact that more and more TV people are creeping to the big projects like this. There are Natalie Dormer and Gwendoline Christine from Game of Thrones, Mahershala Ali from House of Cards, Mira (I forgot her name) from Homeland, and Robert Knepper from Heroes season four. 

The action is great in this film and it is expertly paced. The visual effects is so good. This series remains the best produced film from Lionsgate in terms of quality. The CGI or green screen is seamless unlike Divergent series. The ending for this film is grim just like people say, but it has so much more meaning than your average kick-ass ending. We've seen happy endings too much and Mockingjay Part 2 is taking the logical and mature way. This put The Hunger Games way further than the average young adult films. It has a class-of-its-own. I guess put it this way, the trendsetter is always the best one out of the trend, like Harry Potter films are of another level compared to Percy Jackson and so is Hunger Games, compared to Divergent or Maze Runner. Especially seeing that this post-apocalyptic dystopian setting has exactly the same plot points in general. Still the decision to split the film might hurt creatively if not economically. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2: rated 3.5/4

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