None of ‘Mockingjay’s’ bleak, ponderous endings pays off

One of the biggest drawbacks to adapting a series of books for the big screen, especially with the obligatory splitting of the final novel into two movies, is the lack of closure.

As a result of cliffhangers, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2" is the first installment since the original to have an actual ending. Heck, it has a whole handful of them. It's one of the ending-est movies I've seen since "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King."

Unfortunately, none of those endings feels like a worthy climax for a series of films nearly four years, and more than nine hours of screen time, in the making.

When we catch up with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), she's barely able to speak after her vocal cords were damaged in that attack by Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who's still strapped down and acting erratically after having been hijacked by the Capitol.

Before long, though, Katniss and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) lead a mission to seize control of District 2, the final domino that must fall before their rebel alliance can move on to the Capitol. Along the way, Katniss pays the Team Gale 'shippers some lip service — literally — by kissing the weakest leg of her love triangle. But Gale, who can tell she's still too wrapped up in Peeta, is having none of her nonsense. "It's like kissin' someone who's drunk," he says, dismissively. "Doesn't count."

Later, Katniss and Gale are joined by Finnick (Sam Claflin) and a squadron of forgettable cannon fodder, led by Boggs (Mahershala Ali) and newcomer Lieutenant Jackson (Michelle Forbes), for what's supposed to be another series of propaganda videos filmed by Cressida (Natalie Dormer) and her crew.

For some reason, President Coin (Julianne Moore) has decided those propos must include poor, damaged Peeta, so he's sent to the front lines as well.

But when Katniss diverts the group to her not-so-secret mission of assassinating President Snow (Donald Sutherland), the Capitol's leader is more than ready for them.

Snow has tasked his game makers with turning the rebels' march through the Capitol into "a celebration of suffering," thanks to an elaborate system of booby traps and other obstacles, including motion-sensitive pods that unleash everything from fire to heavy artillery. It's all exciting and visually impressive, but these defenses, which Finnick refers to as the 76th Hunger Games, test the limits of credulity as they would have been impossible to install in a matter of hours or even days.

But so much of "Mockingjay — Part 2," once again directed by Francis Lawrence from a script by returning writers Peter Craig and Danny Strong, feels more interested in spectacle and servicing fans than in telling a tight story.

Fan favorites from earlier installments show up for no more compelling reason than they're expected to. Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) gets a minute or two of screen time by hosting broadcasts of the rebels' seeming defeat. Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) hangs around for a few scenes, none of which packs anywhere near the power of his earlier ones. And Effie (Elizabeth Banks) shrugs off District 13's standard gray uniforms for some quick bursts of opulence, the only real glimmers of light in a cold, bleak film.

Given recent events, the timing is unfortunate for the scene in which Katniss and Gale launch an attack by blending in among a group of refugees.

Even worse, the result of those actions, as well as a few other pivotal moments, are telegraphed to the point where even moviegoers who never read the novels can guess what's coming.

The cast, the best ever assembled for a franchise based around young adult novels, is uniformly excellent. Although some of the shots of rebel mastermind Plutarch Heavensbee, portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died before he'd completed the role, are distracting in a way that Paul Walker's posthumous scenes in "Furious 7" weren't.

Following the riveting action of "The Hunger Games" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," the two parts of "Mockingjay" are very different, darker movies. But they still could have combined for a gripping finale to a trilogy.

Instead, the bloated, ponderous "Mockingjay — Part 2" is wrapping up the global phenomenon with a whimper of an ending.

Or, more accurately, endings.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com. On Twitter: @life_onthecouch