'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 鈥� Part 2': Actress Jennifer Lawrence is still formidable
'Games' stars Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, a teenager who takes a stand against a totalitarian government in a dystopian world.
'Games' stars Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, a teenager who takes a stand against a totalitarian government in a dystopian world.
The most heroic thing about 鈥淭he Hunger Games: Mockingjay 鈥� Part聽2鈥� is that Jennifer Lawrence is still formidable. This fourth and final installment of the rabidly successful franchise, based on the Suzanne聽Collins novels, is more of a dribble than a slam dunk, but Lawrence is still聽acting away in it as if this represented more just a paycheck.
Not that she gets to show all that she can do as an actress 鈥� not by a long shot (or an arrow shot). She鈥檚 fiercely glum throughout, as her Katniss Everdeen leads a rebel commando squad into the heart of the聽Capitol. Her goal: Kill President Snow, played once again by Donald聽Sutherland with his trademark depraved panache.
Director Francis Lawrence stages the action sequences, both聽aboveground and underground, with a modicum of flair, and Julianne聽Moore as rebel leader Coin gives off some sparks 鈥� she鈥檚 a reformer with聽a totalitarian streak 鈥� but for the most part there is nothing divertingly new聽or different about this franchise fade-out. When we last see Katniss in an idyllic pastoral tableau, I felt happy for them but even happier for myself. No more sequels. Grade: B- (Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for some thematic material.)