While many “Hunger Games” fans wait eagerly await the midnight premiere of the final installment on Nov. 20, The Sentinel was given an exclusive first look at the final film. We also got access to an exclusive round table interview with some of the film’s cast and crew.
Familiar cast members returned to the big screen, including Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Francis Lawrence, director of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” returned to direct the second part of the film. Just like many other young-adult-books-turned-movies, the final book was turned into two movies.
The second part of the film starts immediately where Part 1 had finished with no introduction. That means if the last time you saw Part 1 was in theaters, consider watching it again before seeing the new film. The story picks up with Katniss struggling to get through to Peeta’s brainwashed mind and to lead the rebellion while in the newly found District 13. Katniss is still being used as a propaganda tool and President Snow, played by Donald Sutherland, is still set on destroying the outer districts of Panem, and most importantly – destroying Katniss.
Strong emotions between characters, mainly the inevitable love triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta, are seen throughout the film. Katniss is faced with many tough decisions – should she trust President Coin, how will she kill President Snow and will she ever get through to Peeta?
“It becomes clear between them that no matter what they might have, as long as Peeta is in the state he’s in, Katniss is never going to be able to let Peeta go,” Lawrence said.
Peeta, played by Josh Hutcherson, plays his role as a Capitol robot and Katniss-hater perfectly. The hatred and confusion Peeta displays to Katniss in the book is shown perfectly by Hutcherson.
“Peeta’s going through a kind of rehabilitation process, trying to get back to his old self,” Hutcherson said. “He has moments of clarity but he’s kind of in and out.”
The action scenes in the film are very well designed and follow the story line of the novel very closely. Viewers also get to see Panem and the Capitol in a different way than previous films. The Capitol, traditionally seen as lavish and full of interesting looking people, is now gray and crumbling in the chaos of the war. Even better, Snow has turned the outskirts of the Capitol into a metropolis version of the annual Hunger Games.
While many of the filming in the districts and woods were filmed right here in Atlanta, many of the Capitol filming took place in France and Germany, where epic backdrops and buildings are around every corner.
“Shooting the Capitol scenes in Europe allowed us all the size and scale that we envisioned,” Producer Jon Kilik said. “The team was able to create a look that is both very layered and gigantic.”
One of the most interesting elements of the film was seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman, who passed away in 2014, in a large proportion of the film. While many of the filming was done before his death, many scenes of Hoffman were created using CGI. However, Hoffman’s acting in his final film was spectacular and it wouldn’t have been as good without him.
In comparison to Mockingjay Part 1, the second and final film really brings a successful and interesting conclusion to the series. The actions and decisions made by characters are understood, and the incredibly action packed and tense scenes make it captivating until the very end. Overall, the final film was a success and fans won’t be disappointed come Nov. 20.
