It Came From The Cineplex: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The Hunger Games 3 Part 2, also known as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, was written by Peter Craig and Danny Strong, and directed by Francis Lawrence.

Craig and Strong wrote the previous film, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Peter Craig previously wrote The Town. Danny Strong is primarily an actor, having starred as Jonathan in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, among many other roles. He also wrote the screenplay for Lee Daniels' The Butler, which of course makes him the perfect choice to write a post-apocalyptic scifi epic.

Francis Lawrence previously directed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

Long before shooting began on Part 1, Lionsgate Studio said they were splitting the Mockingjay book into two films "because the story was just too big to fit it all into one." To that I respectfully reply, "Bullsh*t."  Lionsgate made two films so they could rake in a cool two billion dollars instead of one billion, pure and simple. There's nothing anyone could ever possibly say to make me believe otherwise.

It was a good business decision, but artistically, not so much. Part 1 was slow, talky and short on action, as the characters seemingly stood around waiting for the second film to commence. Part 2 is chock full of action, but short on actual substance and story. They really did a disservice to the material by splitting it up. With a bit of trimming and editing, these two halves would make a really great three hour film.

So what exactly is the message of these movies anyway? Apparently it's "If you don't like your government, then by all means violently overthrow it!" Got it.

OK, I'm being a wiseacre here, but that's basically what it's saying. And it's a message worth hearing. We forget that our government is meant to serve the people, not the other way around. Our government should never forget that, and do its best to do right by us all, lest we revolt and throw the bums out.

It's too bad the vast majority of American citizens are too busy lying on their couches eating fist-fulls of Cheetos while watching the latest antics of the Kardashians to remember they have the power-- make that the responsibility-- to induct a competent government and replace it if it fails.

Whether you agree with this or not, at least The Hunger Games have a message worth discussing. Unlike a certain other Young Adult book and film series whose message appears to be, "Your life's meaningless unless you have a hot, undead boyfriend."

There was a bit of controversy when poster seen above was rejected in Israel, and replaced by one with a fiery Mockingjay symbol. Apparently in Jerusalem, public posters featuring women are seen as offensive and often torn down. Progressive!

I've only read the first book in the series, so some of the questions I have below may have been addressed in the subsequent volumes. Doesn't matter! This is the movie we're talking about. If I have to do homework and read the books to understand what's happening in the films, then the director has failed.

The Hunger Games franchise has been a huge financial boon for Lionsgate Studios, grossing over $2.5 BILLION dollars worldwide. So you know what that means! Yep, Lionsgate is reluctant to put their cash cow out to pasture, so there's been ominous talk of either a prequel or sequel to the series.

Whether author Suzanne Collins would be involved, and where the story could possibly go after the events of this movie, I have no idea.

SPOILERS!

The Plot:
Picking up right where we left off (an entire year ago!), Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) is recovering after nearly being throttled by a brainwashed Peeta (played by Josh Hutcherson). Once she recovers, Katniss visits Rebellion President Coin (played by Julianne Moore) and volunteers to kill President Snow (played by Donald Sutherland), the leader of the Capitol. Coin denies her request, saying Katniss is more valuable as an inspirational symbol of the Rebellion (which was thoroughly covered in the previous film and didn't need rehashed here).

Katniss then sneaks aboard a supply plane bound for District 2, where Commander Paylor is planning a massive assault on the Capitol. Katniss is assigned to Squad 451, which will trail the real invasion force and serve as propaganda for the Rebellion. Peeta is assigned to the squad, in an effort to show the Capitol that he's siding with the rebels. Katniss' pal Gale (played by Liam Hemsworth) isn't happy about Peeta's presence, as he sees him as a rival for Katniss' affections.

Snow has lined the streets of the Capitol with deadly booby traps, designed by the Gamemakers of the Hunger Games. After triggering a couple of traps, Boggs, the leader of the squad, is mortally wounded. Before he dies, he tells Katniss to watch out for Coin, who sees her as a threat to her power. He then transfers his command to Katniss.

Since they can't make it through the Capitol to President Snow's mansion, they decide to go under it, and travel through the sewers. Amazingly, Snow didn't think of that, and hastily orders a group of "mutts" (genetically engineered creatures) into the sewers. Katniss loses several members of her squad before they escape to the surface.

Snow announces that the rebels are now inside the Capitol and orders citizens into his mansion, promising them food and shelter, not to mention forming a human shield around himself.

Katniss and Gale sneak into the Captiol in disguise. Just then the rebels arrive and attack, as the Capitol's Peacekeepers return fire. A Capitol airship flies overhead, dropping silver parachutes (similar to the ones dropped to help participants in the Hunger Games a few movies back) onto the crowd. The parachutes explode, killing hundreds in the crowd. A team of rebel medics, including Katniss' sister Prim, rush in to help the injured. A second round of explosions kills Prim and knocks Katniss unconscious.

When she wakes up, Katniss is informed that the Capitol has been defeated and Snow captured. She confronts Snow, who's being held in his rose garden. He tells Katniss that the bombings were Coin's idea, not his, and were designed to turn the Capitol citizens against him. She realizes that the second round of bombs, which were designed to kill the medics, was Gale's idea. When she asks Gale about this, he doesn't deny his involvement. She tells him to beat it, neatly eliminating their tired little love triangle.

Coin has now appointed herself Interim President of the Capitol. She comes up with the bright idea to have one final edition of the Hunger Games, this time consisting of children of Capitol leaders as revenge. Katniss realizes Coin is just taking Snow's place, and has no plans to change the system of government. She votes in favor ot the Hunger Games idea, on the condition that she get to execute Snow in the opening ceremony. Coin agrees.

At the ceremony, Coin stands upon a high platform, with Snow tied to a post far below. Katniss draws her bow and shoots Coin in the chest, killing her instantly. Snow laughs as an angry mob tears him apart.

Katniss is imprisoned, but later pardoned for her crime by Commander Paylor, who's elected the new President of Panem. Katniss is sent back to District 12 to live. There she reunites with the recovered Peeta.

Years later, in one of the film's many butt-numbing endings, we see Katniss and Peeta playing with their two children, enjoying the new-found peace.

Thoughts:

• Unless you're a rabid fan of this series, you might want to re-watch Part 1 before seeing this installment. It picks up right where the last one left off, with no recap, prologue or anything. If you've not seen the previous film (or forgot what the hell happened after an entire year, like me), you're probably going to be lost for the first few minutes.

• I said this last year about Part 1, but it still applies-- at the end of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the Rebellion really had its work cut out for it. The various Districts had what appeared to be 1930s Dustbowl-era technology, while the Capitol was filled with slick, futuristic vehicles and weaponry. The odds were incredibly uneven and the Rebels didn't stand a chance against such a foe.

Author Suzanne Collins obviously realized this as well, which is why she pulled the amazingly advanced District 13 right out of her ass. 

Despite the fact that we were told the Capitol wiped out District 13 long ago, it still somehow exists as a super secret underground military base packed to the rafters with highly trained soldiers, high tech weapons and tons of ammo. It's a match for the Capitol's forces in every measurable sense. 

It's a good thing the Rebels have District 13, or they'd be going up against the Capitol with clubs and pitchforks. Funny how that just happened to work out, eh?

• Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne Of Tarth on Game Of Thrones, has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as Commander Lyme. Her entire appearance lasts under a minute.

I'm sure she was cast because she's popular and in demand right now, but why go to the trouble of casting a prominent actress just so she could say three or four lines? Was her part originally larger and then drastically cut down?

• President Coin's turn to the dark side seemed to come out of nowhere. The only slight bit or warning we ever get is when Commander Boggs lays dying and tells Katniss that Coin sees her as a threat to her power.

Then the next time we see Coin she pulls a Senator Palpatine and installs herself as permanent President, as bad or even worse than Snow!

That's got to be the quickest turn to evil in the history of cinema. It made her rapid about-face less of a shocking twist and more of a "what the hell?" moment.

Some additional buildup and foreshadowing was definitely needed here.

• Why do some of the characters have surnames and others don't? Everyone from Katniss Everdeen's District 12 seems to have two names, but others-- like Cressida, Castor and Pollux-- are stuck with just one. It doesn't seem to be just a choice on the part of these single-named characters, because even their wanted posters only list their given names.

Is this something that's addressed in the books? Do some Districts use two names and some don't?

• Once inside the Capitol, Katniss and her crew take refuge inside a dress shop run by a woman named Tigress, who's covered in feline tattoos, piercings and implants. I wondered if her tigerish look was prosthetic makeup, or if she was one of those people who do this kind of thing to themselves for real. For the record, it's all makeup.

When Katniss first sees Tigris, she stares intently for a few seconds, then says, "Say, I recognize you. You were on my style team when I was first in the Hunger Games!"

The way Katniss says all this strikes me as funny. It's like she's met quite a few tiger-faced women in her time, and wasn't sure at first which one this was.

• When Katniss and her crew realize they'll never make it through the booby-trapped streets of the Capitol, they come up with the brilliant idea of going under them.

Apparently President Snow-- who always seems to be several steps ahead of everyone else-- never thought of this possibility. This is a grievous tactical error on his part, and quite honestly makes him look like an idiot. 

Of course if he did think to booby trap the sewers as well, it would have been a very short movie and the Rebellion would have been over before it started.

• Once Snow figures out that Katniss and her team are sneaking around in the sewers, he has his Gamemakers flood the underground tunnels with hundreds of mutts-- some sort of blind, deadly mutated humanoids.

I'm a bit fuzzy as to what the mutts are actually supposed to be. Are they mutated humans? Are they some sort of artificially created life form that can be cooked up in minutes? Are they robots? Solid holograms? Apparently it's none of the audience's concern, as their nature is never addressed.

If they are some sort of artificial beings, that's pretty impressive. That means the Capitol has the technology to create life itself!

This vagueness about the nature of the traps and how they're created has plagued all the movies. During the Hunger Games in the previous films, the Gamemakers were able to whip up all kinds of threats to the participants seemingly on the fly. Katniss is hiding in the bushes? Fine, we'll somehow create a giant firestorm to force her out into the open. Another Tribute is getting too close to the wall? We'll instantly create a pack of ravenous wolf-like things to tear 'em apart.

This issue has bugged me for three movies now, and they finally had a chance to address it in this fourth and final one, but nope.

• The defeat of the Capitol reminded me more than a little bit of the ending of The Hobbit. In the book, the Battle Of Five Armies starts up, and Bilbo's almost immediately knocked unconscious. When he finally wakes up, the battle's over and the good guys won.

The exact same thing thing happens here. Katniss is fighting her way to Snow's mansion when a massive explosion knocks her out. When she comes to, Snow's been captured, the Capitol's been defeated and the Rebels have won.

I didn't like that plot conceit in The Hobbit, and I liked it even less here. It feels like a cheat, like the filmmakers couldn't be bothered to show us the one event we've sat through four movies to see. Annoying, to say the least.

• Speaking of Tolkien, this film had almost as many endings as The Return Of The King. Sometime around the third or fourth ending my butt's "Excessive Movie Runtime" alarm went off, and I was hoping they'd hurry and wrap things up soon.

• In one of the film's many endings, Katniss goes back to live in District 12, her former home. Um... didn't Snow bomb the living hell out of District 12 in the previous film? Luckily for her, her winner's mansion appears untouched. But what's she going to do about food, water and heat? In one brief scene we see her hunt and kill a duck or goose. Are she and Peeta going to live on ducks until they can get some crops to grow again?

• As everyone knows by now, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman killed himself prior to the completion of the film. At the time of his death he'd finished all his scenes for Part 1, and had a week to go on Part 2.

Rather than try and cobble together a CGI abomination of Hoffman, the director wisely rewrote the remaining scenes to work around his absence.

Nowhere is that more evident than at the end of the film, in which Haymich visits Katniss and reads her a letter written by Plutarch. It was a bit awkward having another actor read lines obviously meant for Hoffman, but all things considered I think it was the best way to go. A CGI version of Hoffman would have no doubt looked terrible and done a disservice to everyone involved.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is a reasonably competent finale to a mostly decent franchise. It's just too bad Lionsgate got greedy and split the final film in half, as it would have made a much better single movie. I give it a B.

It Came From The Cineplex: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials was written by T.S. Nowlin and directed by Wes Ball.

Nowlin co-wrote the original film with Noah Oppenheim and Grant Pierce Myers. Wes Ball directed the original as well. Amazingly, this is the second film he's ever directed. 

I liked the first film for the most part. I thought the Maze and its mysterious origin made the movie feel like a big budget Twilight Zone episode. Then they revealed the reason behind the Maze, and suddenly I didn't like it so much anymore. Better to have left the ending vague, with Thomas and Minho discovering the exit and going through as the screen faded to black. That certainly would have been preferable to the vague, nonsensical explanation we got. Any time you have a story with a big central mystery, answering it is nearly always a letdown. The audience can always imagine something much better than the actual answer.

The Scorch Trials opens up the Maze Runner world quite a bit, adding destroyed cities, vast deserts, Mad Max-style societies and hordes of pseudo-zombies to the mix. Unfortunately it doesn't add much in the way of plot, as the characters simply dash from one expensive set piece to another.

Character development takes a big hit in this installment as well. Anyone who isn't Thomas is little more than set dressing this time around. When one of the characters is bitten by a zombie and begins turning into one, we're obviously supposed to be saddened and concerned by his fate. Unfortunately all I could think was, "Who the hell is this kid? Was he even in the first movie?"

The first film had an identity all its own, as it concerned a group of kids trying to survive a deadly maze. The Scorch Trials has no such uniqueness. It's all over the place, as it cribs elements from outbreak movies, post apocalyptic films and even zombie movies.

Despite the title, there are no mazes in this followup, but there is a lot of running. Lots and lots of running. There's no time to breathe or think about what it all means, as the minute they arrive at a point, it's time to head to the next one.They rarely if ever stand still, like they're afraid if they stop for even a second, the audience will lose interest and start diddling with their phones.

Most of these YA film series are action packed, but also contain a message for those willing to look below the surface. The Hunger Games is about the evils of the media. The Insurgent series is an allegory against conformity (I think). The Maze Runner films though... I have no idea what they're about. Socialized medicine? Thinking outside the box (or the maze)? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? I'm honestly not sure.

One last thing— I haven't read any of the books, but I assumed that this was a trilogy, like the majority of Young Adult series. Well, not quite. Turns out there are a whopping FIVE books in the series! There's the main Maze Runner Trilogy, plus two prequel books. So does that mean there are gonna be five movies? As long as they make money, I'd say yes. Steel yourself, gang, we may still have three more movies to get through.

SPOILERS!

The Plot:

The film picks up right where the last one left off, which will be mighty confusing to anyone walking into this one cold. The survivors of the Maze— Thomas (our hero), Minho, Teresa, Newt, Frypan and Winston— are all whisked away by helicopter to an unknown facility. It's run by Mr. Janson (played by Game Of Thrones' Aiden Gillen), who assures them that he and the facility have absolutely nothing to do with WCKD (the evil organization that built the Maze).

Janson explains that Not-WCKD is a safe haven and provides food and shelter for the many Immunes from the various Mazes (yep, there were more than one!). Once a day Janson selects several Immunes who will be taken to yet another even more special sanctuary. Thomas is suspicious of Janson and Not-WCKD, especially when he notices Teresa is missing.

Aris, a survivor from another Maze, contacts Thomas and tells him all is not what it seems in Not-WCKD. The two sneak out of their rooms and explore the facility. They find a secret lab housing all the previously taken Immunes in giant tubes. They're apparently being harvested for their precious bodily fluids, which can cure the Flare (the world-wide plague that decimated the world). Thomas also overhears Janson talking to Ava Paige, the evil scientist who runs WCKD, and who apparently got better after seemingly killing herself in the previous film. Gosh, it's a WCKD facility after all! Who would have guessed? Janson tells Paige that he's close to locating and wiping out the Right Arm, a resistance group located in the mountains.

Thomas finds Teresa and rescues her, and he and his group escape the Not-WCKD facility. They're unprepared for life outside though, in the lifeless Scorch. They hole up in an abandoned mall, but are attacked by Cranks (humans turned into zombies by the Flare virus). Winston is bitten by a Crank, and the group barely escapes for their lives.

They trudge through the endless Scorch, trying to make it to the mountains and the Right Hand. Winston begins turning into a Crank and kills himself. The rest make it to a hidden base at the foot of the mountains. There they meet Jorgé and his adopted daughter Brenda. Jorgé is an opportunist and plans to hand the group over to WCKD for a hefty fee. Just then WCKD attacks Jorgé's base and kills nearly everyone in it. Jorgé, Brenda and Thomas' group flee and eventually find the Right Arm camp high in the mountains.

Brenda was bitten by a Crank during their escape, and Vince (played by Barry Pepper), the leader of the Right Arm, wants to kill her before she turns. Mary (played by Lily Taylor), the group's doctor, synthesizes a serum from Thomas' blood that stops the Flare virus. Unfortunately it doesn't cure it, and she'll need regular injections of Thomas' blood for the rest of her life.

WCKD manages to track down the camp and blows it to smithereens. Teresa reveals she contacted WCKD and told them their location. Apparently WCKD restored her wiped memory, and she's now working for them, believing they only want to cure the Flare. Paige and Janson take Minho, Teresa and a bunch of other Immunes back to WCKD, leaving Thomas and a handful of survivors behind. Thomas convinces the others they have to fight back and overthrow WCKD once and for all, as the screen fades to black.

Thoughts:

• Just a reminder that WCKD stands for World in Catastrophe Killzone experiment Department, which tells me someone reeeeeeally wanted it to spell "wicked."

• After reaching the sanctuary, Thomas and his group take much needed showers. In true movie fashion, Thomas places one hand against the wall and stares at the floor as the water pours over him. HAW! I couldn't help but laugh.

Does ANYONE ever take a shower like that in real life?

• The Not-WCKD facility features massive air vents that are wide enough and sturdy enough for a person to crawl through. Just like in 95% of movies and TV shows.

• At the end of the film there's a big ol' full screen credit that reads, "Costume Design By Sanja Milkovic Hays." Seriously? Someone designed these outfits? 

It looks more like Hays drove to North Face, bought all the jackets, shirts, pants and boots they had, dragged them behind her car for a few miles and then passed them out to the cast.

The only costumes I saw that might have actually been designed were the WCKD troopers and Ava Paige's white "Cruella de Vil" coat.

• Patricia Clarkson plays evil WCKD leader Eva Paige. Every time she was onscreen, I couldn't help but think of Tammy I from Parks & Recreation. She even acted like Tammy I!

• Aiden Gillen plays Mr. Janson, Eva Paige's evil minion. Gillen would make a really good live action Reed Richards if Fox ever decides to make a good Fantastic Four movie. One that doesn't feature an all-teen cast, like their recent abomination, that is. He's even got the requisite graying temples!

• As is the law in most scifi movies, this one features 3D holograms, but with visible scan lines and less resolution than an old school picture tube TV. Why do they always do that? Why would futuristic video technology look worse than what we have now?

I guess they do this to help sell the idea we're watching a screen and not a live person, but surely there's a better way.

• As Thomas and Aris snoop around Not-WCKD, they find a lab full of giant tubes, each containing a large flea-like monstrosity. 

I guess they were supposed to be the Grievers, the monsters that populated the Maze in the previous film. Oddly enough, no one ever comments on them. Not even a perfunctory, "I say, what the heck are those giant weevil things?"

• Once again I have to mention the awesome spectacle of Minho's massive shelf of hair. It juts out a good six to eight inches over his forehead, like the bill of a baseball cap. It's really quite impressive.

* As they're crossing the vast desert of the Scorch, Minho drains the last few drops of water from his canteen. He looks at it for a few seconds, then throws it away in disgust. Hey, might as well, Minho! I'm sure you won't ever be needing something to hold water in ever again!

• The Crank zombies were pretty impressive and gruesome looking. That said, some of the more advanced specimens appeared to have tendrils or roots growing out of them, looking a lot like the Infected in The Last Of Us video game.

• Ava Paige's giant WCKD transport ship looks a lot like the Hunter Killers from the Terminator films. A LOT. It looks for all the world like they took a Hunter Killer model and stuck two more engines on it and called it a day.

• Lily Taylor plays Mary, the Right Arm's resident doctor. It's always good to see her in anything. Unfortunately she's killed off way too soon.

• When Thomas and his group arrive at the Right Arm's camp, Mary, their resident doctor, tends to Brenda's wound. She synthesizes a serum from Thomas' blood, which treats, but doesn't cure, the Flare virus in her system. She tells Thomas that Brenda will need these injections for the rest of her life, or she'll turn into a Crank.

Jorgé thanks Thomas of the blood, and says he doesn't know what he'd do if anything ever happened to Brenda. Um... Jorgé did just hear Mary say Brenda will need Thomas' blood serum from now on, right? It's a treatment, not a cure. 

And what happens after Mary's killed? Does anyone else in the Right Arm know how to make the serum? Seems to me like Brenda's screwed.

• Since this is the second part of a trilogy (unless they split part three into two lucrative halves), I knew it would end on a cliffhanger. Trouble was there were about ten spots where it could have ended, but it kept going and going and going and...

I came close to shouting, "Just end it already!"

• At the end of the film, things look pretty grim for our heroes. WCKD has captured Minho and dozens of other Immunes and is taking them back to their lab to grind them into medicine or whatever they're doing. Thomas and his handful of survivors decide enough's enough, and vow to overthrow WCKD once and for all.

Since they're hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, the outlook's not so good. They're going to need reinforcements. I predict they'll discover yet another hidden rebel group somewhere in the mountains. One that has a large, highly trained army and is equipped with guns, ammo and vehicles.

That's exactly what happened in The Hunger Games and the Divergent series. In each case, the ragtag heroes didn't have a chance against their technologically superior enemy until they discovered a heretofore unknown army, pulled directly out of the writer's ass. I expect the same thing to happen here.

• When everyone agrees to side with Thomas and attack WCKD, they ask him what his amazing plan is. The camera cuts to a closeup of him, and fades to black before he can open his mouth. Eh, don't worry about it, he'll tell you his plan same time next year!

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials features much more action than the origin, and opens up the series' world. Unfortunately it does so at the expense of plot and character development. I give it a B-.

It Came From The Cineplex: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (could that title be any longer?) was written by Danny Strong and Peter Craig. It was directed by Francis Lawrence, who also directed the previous installment. It's based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.

I thought the original Hunger Games was pretty good, and the second one even better. This one seems like a step back though.Due to the cash-grabbing decision to split the final book into two films, Mockingjay - Part 1 is all talk and little action. It spins its wheels in desperation while it waits for Part 2 to commence. The story would have been much better served by turning it into one three hour movie, instead of a couple of two hour ones. 

The biggest story surrounding this film is of course Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died of a drug overdose during filming. Hoffman reportedly had finished shooting the majority of his scenes, so the producers decided not to recast his part.

In a case of life imitating art, the film was banned in Thailand when protesters began using Katniss' Everdeen's famous three-fingered salute at demonstrations against the country's government. Protesters marching against police brutality in Ferguson, Missouri also painted Katniss' "If we burn, you burn" slogan around town. Who knew people would take this little young adult tale so seriously?

SPOILERS!

The Plot:

Picking up where the previous film left off, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) wakes up inside a bunker in District 13, which we all thought had been destroyed long ago. Luckily for the Rebellion, District 13 is a high tech fortress filled with soldiers, weapons and missiles. Kartniss meets President Alma Coin, the previously unseen and untalked-about leader of the Rebellion against the evil Capitol. Coin wants Katniss to become the Mockingjay— a symbol of the Rebellion to inspire the populace to act.

Katniss can't be bothered and would rather mope over her sort-of boyfriend Peeta Mellark, who's been kidnapped by the Capitol. Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), former Gamemaker and now Rebel adviser, comes up with a plan to convince her. He hopes that when she sees what's left of District 12 after the Capitol leveled it, she'll be properly motivated to join the cause. Standing in the ruins of her former home, she reluctantly agrees to become the face of the Rebellion. She has one condition though— Coin must rescue Peeta and her fellow tributes from the clutches of the Capitol.

When the Capitol firebombs District 8, Katniss realizes she has to become more than just a symbol, and joins the Rebellion in earnest. Her determination inspires the rebels and they begin striking back at the Capitol, going so far as to bomb a dam that supplied it with power.

President Snow orders an attack on District 13, but the Rebels survive by hiding deep in underground bunkers. When they emerge, they find the ground littered with hundreds of white roses, Snow's personal symbol. Katniss realizes his next move will be to kill the captive Peeta.

Katniss' friend-zoned pal Gale leads a mission to rescue Peeta and the other captives being held in the Capitol. They're successful, and Katniss is reunited with Peeta at last. Unfortunately he tries to throttle her the minute he sees her, as he's been brainwashed by Snow.

Katniss watches helplessly as the doctors try to undo the psychological damage to Peeta, as the Rebels prepare for a final strike at the Capitol. A big "TO BE CONTINUED" caption flashes on the screen as the audience groans and realizes they'll have to wait an entire year before this thing is wrapped up.

Thoughts:

• At the end of the previous film I thought that the Rebels really had their work cut out for them. The various Districts have what appears to be 1930s Dustbowl-era technology. They have little or no electricity, can barely feed themselves and use plants and herbs as medicine.

Compare that to the Capitol, which is filled to capacity with slick, futuristic technology and weaponry. The odds were incredibly uneven and the Rebels didn't stand a chance against such a foe.

Author Suzanne Collins obviously realized this as well, which is why she pulled the amazingly advanced District 13 right out of her ass. 

Despite the fact that we were told the Capitol wiped out District 13 long ago, it still exists as a super secret underground military base packed to the rafters with highly trained soldiers, high tech weapons and tons of ammo. It's a match for the Capitol's forces in every measurable sense. 

So where'd they get all this technology and materiel? Did they steal it a piece at a time from the Capitol over the decades? Did the Capitol never notice the odd hoverplane or tank that went missing? And what about the bunker that goes down at least forty levels? Who dug this enormous complex under the ruins of District 13? How? With what? All this is apparently none of our concern, because the film never offers an explanation.

It's a good thing the Rebels have District 13, or they'd be going up against the Capitol with clubs and pitchforks. Funny how that just happened to work out, eh?

• After Katniss recovers, she's brought before President Alma Coin, the leader of District 13. Coin is yet another element of the Rebellion pulled directly from Suzanne Collin's ass cheeks. I can't speak for the novels, but I'm sure Coin was never mentioned in any of the previous films. 

• The Rebels are also fortunate that Beetee is on their side. He's a former resident of the Capitol who defected to the Rebellion after the Quarter Quell. Beetee's the one who just happened to design the Capitol's computer security systems, and knows how to hack into their TV signals and broadcast Rebel propaganda.

Yet another incredibly lucky break for the Rebels!

• As Katniss is escorted through the vast underground bunker of District 13, she notices the racks and racks of missiles and other deadly ordnance they've stockpiled. She asks Commander Boggs why they never used any of this weaponry against the Capitol before now, to prevent them from destroying the Districts.

It's a valid question. Unfortunately Boggs gives her a weak excuse about how the slightest aggression on their part would result in a ten-fold retaliation by the Capitol or something. Nice try, movie, but I ain't buying it.

• Star Jennifer Lawrence reportedly cut her hair quite short prior to filming, and had to wear a wig for the entirety of the shoot. A very obvious wig, I might add, that doesn't look anything like her hair in the previous film.

I don't understand why it's so hard to find a wig that looks real on camera. This is a multi-million dollar film, not a community theater production.

• In the previous films, Katniss was a brave and capable young woman who willingly risked her life to save others.

Suddenly in this film she's become weak and indecisive, as she spends most of the run time mooning over Peeta. She's reduced to little more than spectator here, as she's buffeted about by the winds of the plot instead of taking action herself.

• The decadent citizens of the Capitol enjoy their luxury and excess due to the labors of the various Districts. Without them, there literally would be no Capitol. 

Katniss is from District 12, a mining area that produced coal for the Capitol. President Snow decides to make a statement to Katniss by firebombing District 12, completely destroying it. 

I don't quite think he thought his plan through. Without District 12's coal, it's gonna get mighty cold in the Capitol come winter. Perhaps he should have just sent her a strongly worded letter, so the coal would still flow freely into his home.

• Katniss may the most dangerous person in Panem, even more so than President Snow. He completely destroys District 12 just to get back at her. Later Katniss visits a makeshift hospital in District 8, and Snow firebombs it when he learns she's in the vicininty. He even attacks District 13 when he learns she and her family is there.

If I was one of the Rebels, I'd be staying as far away from Miss Katniss Everdeen as humanly possible.

• In the previous film, everyone in this future world watched flickering TVs that projected an image into the air and looked worse than anything we have now.

Suddenly in this film they all have normal hi-def flat screens. Did everyone get tired of their inferior "futuristic" monitors and go back to old school technology?

• Katniss is assigned a film crew to follow her around and shoot propaganda footage of her for the Rebellion. 

One of this crew, Pollux, is an avox. He spoke out against the Capitol and had his tongue cut out as punishment.

At one point he whistles the three "mockingjay" notes to Katniss, to try and get her to sing. I'm not sure, but is it possible to whistle different notes without a tongue?

• I get that there's an overall story arc here, but I was a little disappointed that there were no Hunger Games in this Hunger Games movie.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is talky and slow moving, feeling like butter scraped over too much bread. It's painfully obvious that it exists only to set up Part 2. I give it a B.

"Divergent" Just Got A Little More Divergent

Right on schedule! To absolutely no one's surprise, this week Lionsgate Studios announced they're splitting the third Divergent movie into two parts. Exactly like the Harry Potter, Twilight, Fast And Furious, Hunger Games and Hobbit franchises.

Because why make just three movies like a chump when you can drag out the story into four parts and rake in another half billion dollars? Who cares if there's enough material for another installment? Artistic integrity, schmarschmistic schminschmegrity. There's no doubt in my mind that they'd make thirty Divergent movies if they could.

Super Cynicism powers, Activate!

It Came From The Cineplex: Divergent

Divergent was directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist) and written by Evan Daughtery and Vanessa Taylor. It's based on the young adult novel by Veronica Roth.

Another week, another teen romance set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world. Try as I might, it's impossible to judge this film without comparing it to others in the genre such as The Host, The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games. In follows the established Hunger Games template in particular almost to the letter. You've the same star-crossed young lovers, you've got the Reaping, er, I mean the Choosing Ceremony, you've got the same intense training pitting teen against teen, you've got a small group of rebels trying to overthrow the oppressive government...  

Heck, both films were even released by the same studio, Lionsgate.

Perhaps a better name for the film would have been Derivative.

CLASS DIVIDED SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Plot:
In a futuristic post-war Chicago, the population is divided into five Factions: Abnegation (selfless public servants), Amity (peaceful farmers), Candor (truthful public defenders), Erudite (intelligent and educated researchers) and Dauntless (law enforcers). Whoever named these factions obviously owns a thesaurus.

When a citizen turns sixteen, they're given a test and sorted into a particular Faction. Beatrice Prior was born into the Abnegation Faction. Since she's the hero of the story, naturally when she takes the test she finds she's a Divergent— an anomaly who has traits of ALL the Factions.

The government shuns and exiles Divergents, fearing they'll upset the delicate balance of Society. Beatrice hides her test results and chooses the Dauntless faction, because they're kewl. She renames herself Tris and trains with them for several months, slowly becoming one of them.

Eventually the Erudite Faction use mind control devices on the Dauntless army and uses them to stage a coup against Abnegation for control of the government. The mind control device doesn't work on Divergents, so it's up to Tris to save the City.

Thoughts:
• Oy, another young adult love story that takes place in a futuristic dystopia. And an incredibly specific one at that.

One thing they never bother to explain in these types of stories: How the hell do these worlds come to be? Why would anyone ever agree to live in such cockamamie societies?

Why would the population go along with splitting into five highly specialized factions? Why would a citizenry that outnumbers their enforcers willingly sacrifice two of their children every year? Why would anyone agree to have a death clock implanted in their forearm?

I get that the authors use these societies to examine facets of our own, but they never tell us how these far-fetched systems started up in the first place. That's the story I want to see.

• I can see why the Divergent series is so popular, as it ties in perfectly with the typical teen's feelings of non-conformity, isolation and rebellion.

The hero exists in a world where everyone is forced to conform to society's rigid rules. But she's special and doesn't fit in anywhere. Why, she's just like every teen in the audience! They don't fit in either!

• During Tris' opening expository info dump, she says that the Five Faction System has preserved the peace for decades. Not ten minutes later we see that there's friction between at least two of the factions, one of which (Erudite) wants to overthrow the other (Abnegation) and run the government. So much for the peaceful Faction System!

• Along these same lines, some people don't conform to any of the of the five groups and are known as the Factionless (wouldn't that technically make them yet another Faction?). They're shunned by society and have to eke out a living digging through garbage, living in alleys and relying on handouts-- within the walls of the city.

Why the hell would such a rigidly hierarchal society allow the Factionless to live inside the city walls? Why wouldn't they kick them out and let them fend for themselves in the wilderness?

• Speaking of the Factions, it seems like they left out a few. Wouldn't you need a Manufacturing Faction to produce tangible goods? Somebody's gotta make the clothing, furniture and vehicles the people need, but we never see any factories. How about a Merchant Faction to sell the various goods? I'd think they'd need a Medical Faction as well, to treat people when they're sick. What about a Janitorial/Maintenance Faction? Someone has to haul away the trash and fix things when they break down. You'd need an Entertainment Faction as well, to keep the population distracted so they don't think about rebelling.

I suppose you could argue that some of these might be covered by the existing Factions, but I'm skeptical. Erudite would have the smarts to be doctors, but probably wouldn't have much of a bedside manner. Abnegation have the right attitude to be healers, but they live and dress like the Amish and probably don't know much about CAT scans. And so on.

• Just to make sure everyone knows their place in this society, all members of each Faction are forced to wear color-coded clothing. Just like the Power Rangers, or the audience on Tattletales. In fact, during the Reaping, er, Choosing Ceremony, the wide shots of the audience, segregated by Faction and color, looked very much like that relic of the 1970s.

For the record Abnegation always wears grey, Amity wears red and orange clothing, Candor wears white, Erudite wears blue and Dauntless wears black.
 
• One thing the filmmakers did right-- the film takes place in the indeterminate future. No exact date is ever given. Good. 

As regular readers of my blog know by now, one of my pet peeves is when a sci-fi movie presents us with a radically altered society full of highly advanced technology, then places it in the unimaginably far off year of 2021.

When dealing with futuristic dates, vague is the way to go.

• During the daytime, post-war Chicago appears to be a modern city with technology ahead of our own. At night though the city seems to be completely dark. So they have stun guns, mind control and machines that can read and display your thoughts on a screen, but apparently no light bulbs. Got it.

Is there a reason why all the lights are shut off at night? Some kind of curfew? Is there not enough juice to power the lights as well as the gigantic electrified fence that surrounds the city?

• One of the characteristics of the Abnegation Faction is that they have no vanity. To ensure they abide by this trait, the use of mirrors is heavily restricted. When Tris is getting ready for the Reaping, er, Choosing Ceremony, her mother only allows her a brief glance into the family's sole mirror. It's even hidden behind a special sliding panel!

If mirrors are so verboten to this Faction, why do they have one in their house in the first place? Yeah, it's normally hidden, but if they're so unconcerned about how they look to the world, why have one at all?  

• In this society, when a child reaches the age of sixteen they're required to take an aptitude test to decide which Faction is best for them. But they don't have to adhere to the test results. During the Reaping, er, Sorting Hat, er, I mean Choosing Ceremony they're allowed to pick whatever Faction they want.

If you can choose any Faction, then what the hell's the point of the test? It seems like a big waste of time if you can willingly override it. Is the test meant to identify and weed out Divergents? Apparently it's none of our concern, as this is never addressed.

• One last thing about the Reaping, er, Choosing Ceremony. The initiates are told that they can choose to join any of the five Factions, but once they choose, that's it-- they're in for life. No backsies or do-overs. 

Would you want to have to live with such a permanent decision your dumb sixteen year old self made? That's even worse than our system, in which we have to live with the career choices we made at age eighteen.

• By the way, some or all of these nitpicky questions I have may have been answered in the novel, which I haven't read. Too bad! This is the movie! If I have to read the book to understand what's happening in the film, then the screenwriters failed badly.

• No one ever says for sure, but I'm guessing Tris and her brother Caleb are twins, since they both choose their Factions on the same day.

• Tris was born into the Abnegation Faction, and her parents of course hope she'll choose to stay there. She ends up choosing Dauntless, which acts as the city's police force and army.

At first I wondered why someone from such a peaceful and benevolent Faction would choose one so violent and warlike. It seems like Dauntless would be a completely alien way of life to her. Then I figured it out--  it's so they could fill the run time with some of that Hunger Games kid vs. kid battle action! All the other Factions are filled with people who sit around and talk or farm all day. Dauntless was the only one that would feature anything even remotely exciting.

• Tris' love interest in the film is the leader of Dauntless, whose name is Four. Yep, I said Four. His real name is Tobias Eaton, but he's known as Four because of his four fears. Cause you know, everyone has just four specific fears, right? Right?

• During the Dauntless War Games, they use guns with live ammo. Tris is initially apprehensive about using such weapons on her fellow Factioners, until her sadistic instructor Eric demonstrates that the guns are perfectly safe and fire cartridges that simulates the pain of a bullet hit, but not the damage.

Maybe so, but I'd hardly call them harmless. These cartridges appears to be at least three to four inches long. If you caught one in the eye you might as well toss your Viewmaster in the trash.

• Near the end of the film Tris and Four rebel against their mind controlled brethren. There's a big shootout between Four and Eric, his former friend. We see several closeups of Four and Eric shooting at one another. However when they cut to a wide shot, hilariously we see they're crouched ten feet apart at the most.

It looks exactly like a scene from one of the Naked Gun movies.

• In the third act we find out that Erudite is plotting to overthrow the Agnegation Faction for control of the government. They inject everyone in the Dauntless Faction with a thought control device that turns them all into mindless drones that follow orders without question.

This whole mind control plot point is pulled right out of the author's ass. It literally comes out of nowhere, as the audience had no idea such a thing was even a possibility in this world. Bad form, movie!

Additionally, the mind control widget doesn't work on Tris or Four because they're Divergents. Well that was certainly convenient! If that hadn't happened Erudite's coup would have gone off without a hitch!

• Since everyone and their dog writes nothing but trilogies these days, and studios are desperate for successful film franchises, this is of course the first of three planned films. So you know what that means-- it doesn't have a proper ending! They might as well have thrown up a title card that said, "Continued Next Year!"

• At the very end of the film, the rebels hop onboard an L train and ride it through the Wall and outside the city with no trouble. 

First of all, where's the security on the Wall? Why is it possible to ride right through it? Does the Wall only work one way? It keeps people from getting in, but you can freely walk out any old time you feel like it? 

Second, as my pal KW Monster pointed out, what's the deal with these trains? All through the film the Dauntless gang jumps on and off them while they're moving. In fact I don't think we ever see them stop. Is anyone driving them, or are they automated? And if you want to ride one, do you have to risk your life by leaping on as it speeds by?

Divergent is yet another young adult love story set in a dystopian society, that's just too derivative for its own good. I give it a B-.