A mixed result

Rating: 6/10 (2 September 2019)

This futuristic American science-fiction is the second in a quadrilogy. In this segment, a young woman and man are considered heroes for having won a gladiatorial battle in the first segment. Their government tries to control them for their own purposes.
The first half is very intriguing. It parallels past and modern societies whose people are controlled by tyrants. Some scenes are frighteningly relevant: using celebrity/royal weddings to distract the populace from the real problems in their lives; and a very cheeky take-off on competitive reality shows.
The second half is a radical change from the first in a "Survivor"-like contest in a jungle. Some of it is thrilling and adventurous but the later part has so many characters and incidents, it becomes hard to keep track. Unfortunately, the directing by Francis Lawrence is not inspiring enough to maintain interest to justify the movie's long length at two and a half hours.