Mockingjay Part 2 (2015, USA), the final episode of The Hunger Games, is now available for home viewing.

I think we were expecting more. It continues in the vein of the previous film, Mockingjay Part 1, in the same linear fashion, without finishing the series on a high.

However, it rounded off the story cohesively and satisfactory, in more of a literary way.

The box office North American take was way down on the previous films in the series so I guess that word of mouth was not so good, but it may fare better on home viewing.

It could have been a visceral action thriller if they focused on heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) on a personal vendetta against President Snow (Donald Sutherland). This would have tested her resolve to be a kind person who does not believe in killing others, but values life. However, her relationship with Snow is sore. Snow is a rotten dictator who has manipulated the love of Katniss’ life, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).

All very complex.

It goes in a low-key, story-centric direction instead, with less action and only moments of action that tend to go on for too long. Though I appreciated how it rounded off the themes from the previous films.

In all entertainment—even the so-called art house or low-budget (but necessarily worse-off cinema) cinema—there is a hook to keep us watching. In The Hunger Games sequels, the hook is found in the story more than the action. The Hunger Games sequels are telling a story to hook us in more than delivering on the entertainment value. If that is hook enough for you.

In the previous films, questions were asked about the nature of reality and fiction, but in this film, reality is indeed real, as rebels face off a futuristic North American totalitarian government.

In this, the last of The Hunger Games series, the hunger ‘games’ are stripped of pretensions and appearances and we are exposed to reality itself.  How would you feel?

Come to think about the the difference between reality and fiction, we could give something a second thought. Self-awareness may not go asunder.

For commentaries and reviews of the previous three Hunger Games films please visit here.