The third opus of “The Hunger Games” saga is “alright”.
The directing is pretty good (Francis Lawrence directed this movie and the 2nd Hunger Games one) & everyone knows Jennifer Lawrence’s talent who plays the lead female part. She is part of a great cast: the late Philip Seymour Hoffmann, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson & Julianne Moore amongst others. Having read all the books of the saga (within one week like everybody right?) I didn’t have the novelty effect of it. Yet, the suspense is one of the key elements of the saga. But the good news is that I can attest of the book’s adaptation on screen. And it’s actually a success on that aspect because it remains true to the books. The producers even took the liberty to divide the last book into two movies so Francis Lawrence could take the time to really explore the story but in return this film is more an introduction to the last movie rather than a real movie by itself.
So, the fans will be content but the others will be disatisfied by the lack of dramatic tension. Still, the movie remains interesting. Jennifer Lawrence is great as usual and Francis Lawrence managed to do some great directing. For example, the battle scene in District 8 is filmed witn an on-board camera in close shots on Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) so that your vision is shorten & focused on her character & you live the experience as she does.
Considering the original soundtrack, James Newton Howard (“Batman begins” & “Nightcrawler”) composed good scores but some of them were a bit “cheezy” especially during Gale (Liam Hemsworth)& Katniss scenes.
At many times, the film could have been a bit ridiculous but the directing and the actors’ performances make it work.
The political aspect of the story is subtly put forward through President Snow (Donald Sutherland) & President Coin (Julianne Moore) characters but it is one of the main themes of the original story. You don’t get transcended by the movie but like I said it’s an “alright” movie.
