'Mockingjay Part 2' review: A feeble end to the Hunger Games saga

Film: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland and Julianne Moore
Rating: ***

What it's about: Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) returns for one final salvo. The rebellion's last stand against the Capitol, against President Snow (Donald Sutherland). She, along with a 'Star Squad', pushed by President Coin, decide to break into the Capitol and attempt to bring down Snow and his loyalists, by getting the rest of Panem to stand up as one. It's easier said than done.

What's hot: JLaw as Katniss retains much of what made her the anchor of the franchise. She moves on from simply being a mascot to having a mind of her own. Donald Sutherland as Snow has more talking to do here than he did in the last film and his character is far more nuanced. Julianne Moore returns as Coin and her intentions are made clear. 
Happily-ever-afters in the aftermath of war doesn't get more real than this. That and the several real-life parallels one could possibly draw here. If Collins' story did its part, its Francis Lawrence's assured hand that keeps the chief tropes and characters of this franchise from wallowing in banality.

What's not: You have to end big. With a bang. The epilogue that follows can be ignored as such, but the events leading to the climax is what get you excited. Right in the first few frames, you see the conflict between Peeta (Hutcherson) and Katniss and her falling out with Gale (Hemsworth) and there's little to hold your interest in between. Combat scenes, even in franchises like this, demand a slight over-the-topness. It isn't just the scale of the scenery that matters, but also the action that takes place within it. There's a lot of talking and very little doing, apart from some almost-okay explosions, a few mutants in the sewers (called mutts for some reason) and more, all leading to that climax, that twist in the tale, that instead of blowing you away doesn't quite hold you at all. The moment passes. The movie ends. Life goes on.

What to do: Remember the franchise for all the best moments. Few came from this one. I'll leave you with lines by Katniss that sum the entire experience: "It's like a game. I do it over and over. Gets a little tedious after all these years, but... there are much worse games to play." True, that!