A solid and satisfying conclusion to The Hunger Games series, Mockingjay - Part 2 carries forward the dark tone of its predecessor but ups the ante when it comes to pulse-quickening action sequences. Fans can sleep easy knowing that this finale sticks the landing.
Beginning seconds after the close of Mockingjay - Part 1, a bruised and wheezing Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is still recovering after being throttled by a brainwashed Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).
The rebellion won't rest, however, and soon she's whisked off to join a squad of insurgents tasked with marching on the Capitol. Initially formed to stay out of the firefight and feed back propaganda footage from behind enemy lines, things take a detour thanks to Katniss's desire to go rogue and assassinate silver-haired tyrant President Snow (Donald Sutherland) herself.
Throw into the mix a still mildly-psychotic Peeta, a President Coin (Julianne Moore) who's slyly manipulating Katniss for her own gain and a gauntlet run through a booby-trapped Capitol and you have all the ingredients for a dramatic climax.
Laughs are few and far between here - Effie (Elizabeth Banks) and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) are largely sidelined but effective when used - this is ultra-grim stuff that isn't afraid to address the moral compromises needed to win a war. It's these kind of tuned-in ideas, threaded through Suzanne Collins's source novels, that has set The Hunger Games movies apart from the myriad other YA offerings.
Mockingjay - Part 2, like its predecessors, is smart and thought-provoking without ever losing sight of the fact it's blockbuster entertainment.
Katniss and her 'Star Squad's march through deserted streets laced with killer traps give the movie a sharp adrenaline shot after a slow-burn, talky beginning. Escaping an onrushing oil flood, the action shifts to the sewers for the film's stand-out sequence.
In pitch black, the crew navigate the claustrophobic corridors only to find themselves attacked by pale-skinned, piranha-teethed 'Mutts' reminiscent of director Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend vampires. It's a nerve-shreddingly tense moment up there with the franchise's very best arena deathtraps.
Where the film falters is in its struggle getting to the final fade to black. Things wind down then fire back up again to such an extent that you start to think Peter Jackson's Return of the King ending was abrupt by comparison. That said, this is all faithfully translated from Collins's book, right down to the epilogue offering a flicker of hope after the bloodshed.
Holding it all together is Lawrence, intensely watchable as the arrow-slinging protagonist carrying the weight of Panem on her shoulders. She's aided by series-best turns from Hutcherson and Hemsworth, while the seasoned pros like Sutherland and Moore make for memorable adversaries.
This also marks the final screen appearance from Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose role is completed thanks to a couple of CGI shots and handing over a key speech to Harrelson's Haymitch.
Mockingjay - Part 2 may not have the relentless pace or quip-heavy approach of, say, a Marvel blockbuster, but what it does offer is an emotional gut-punch of a film that's a fitting send-off for one of modern-day cinema's great heroines.
Director: Francis Lawrence; Screenwriters: Suzanne Collins, Danny Strong, Peter Craig; Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Sam Claflin; Running time: 137 mins; Certificate: 12A
