Dark and gloomy snooze-fest

Rating: 5/10 (30 January 2016)

All through watching Mockingjay I thought somehow it feeling familiar... and I realised it reminded me a bit of the Harry Potter series and the point where Harry Potter got darker and more grown up. While the Potter franchise successfully transitioned from it's 12- year old demographic, The Hunger Games, did not quite manage so well.
Not all is bad. There is some interesting criticism here of media and propaganda, but those are all smack -in-the-face type of observations. The film makes no secret of it. The darkness comes from the topic itself: the film is set in the aftermath of a violent crackdown by the Capitol onto the rebelling districts. It is dystopic, but what is missing is the emotion behind it. Jennifer Lawrence is more Jennifer Lawrence than Katniss, and when she is Katniss...well, Katniss is annoying. The consistent need to push her into doing what she has to do is quite frustrating. Mind you, it is (probably?) a limitation imposed in the Hunger Games books, but that still does not make her any less annoying and infuriating when she'd rather choose Peeta over the future of the whole world.
Technically, the Hunger Games have polished up quite nicely. The CGI does not look as dated as it did in the first film, which is good. This film is very grim and dark - the colourful costumes of the Capitol have been replaced by the darkness of the underground shelter and the military uniform. Overall, though, the film sustains the continuation of a mediocre, yet entertaining, franchise. That being said, this one is the least entertaining film so far. The whole "Part 1" charade is a charade at its best. Not much really happens here, beyond some character "development" for Katniss (also known as everyone pushing her to get her act together).
The first film is still the most engaging and entertaining one - let us hope they will end the series on a better note than Mockingjay Part 1, because otherwise, it will be a snooze.