- Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks
- Director: Gary Ross
- Disc Format: 4K, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Release Date: November 8, 2016
- Run Time: 111 minutes
Certain films
will lend themselves to the viewing enhancements brought by 4K better than
others. Animation will always see the most noticeable upgrading, because of the
technology used to create these films, and this is also why large budget action
films with computer generated effects also appear improved. While the first
film in The Hunger Games franchise
had a noticeably smaller budget, all of the films benefit from this new format.
Despite the massive success of The Hunger Games franchise, I have been
highly skeptical of the young adult book adaptations since the original 2012
release. The first film gave me pause due to a remarkable number of
similarities the PG-13 film shared with a far edgier R-rated Japanese film from
2000. But despite what seemed like blatant borrowing, The Hunger Games was engaging enough to draw my curiosity to the
sequel.
- Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Jack Quaid, Taylor St. Clair, Sandra Ellis Lafferty
- Director: Francis Lawrence
- Disc Format: 4K, NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Release Date: November 8, 2016
- Run Time: 111 minutes
I somehow assumed that the
continuation of “The Hunger Games” in the title ensured the film would finish
with another climactic sequence within the games, and was extremely letdown to
discover the film utilized a ‘deus ex machina’ moment to remove all significant
characters from the action before the completion of the games from the title.
This would be like releasing a film called Batman
v Superman where the film ends just before they are about to fight. I felt
cheated by the title and annoyed at the convenient removal of the only
interesting dilemma in the franchise. My frustration was only carried over into
the second sequel, which had no games or any worthwhile story.
- Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks
- Director: Francis Lawrence
- Format: 4K, NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Release Date: November 8, 2016
- Run Time: 111 minutes
Many criticized The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, saying that it wasn’t enough
of a movie on its own and the final book should not have been split into two
films. I agreed with this point until I finally watched Part 2, and now I just wish the second and third films had been
combined, or better yet, been left out entirely. It may have taken two
obnoxiously flawed, money-grabbing sequels, but The Hunger Games franchise finally got the last film right. Mockingjay Part 2 builds off of the
emotional resonance of its storyline without losing the action elements which
made the first film a success. Better yet, the film actually has an ending,
unlike the last two films to come out of the franchise.
I know my criticism and reviews will
do little to stop every single stupid young adult novel being split up in its
last installment, if only to bleed its fanbase for an additional ticket price,
but I have to speak up for the sacredness of art over commerce. The final film
is a fantastic conclusion, but I only wish I could have entered the viewing
without the bad taste left in my mouth by the first two sequels. It is far
easier to accept the flaws of the franchise while viewing them in direct
succession of each other, especially with the distracting clarity of the 4K
presentation.
- Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks
- Director: Francis Lawrence
- Disc Format: 4K, NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Release Date: November 8, 2016
- Run Time: 111 minutes
Not only are the
color more vibrant and the picture sharper in the sequences of action, the
soundtrack also feels much more immersive with the right sound system. Each of
the 4K releases comes with a Blu-ray copy of each film, along with digital
copies. The special features on each of the films are lifted from the original
Blu-ray releases, including no new extras with the new format.
The Hunger Games has two featurettes (including one making-of and another about the
success of the franchise), a commentary track with the editors and visual
effects supervisor, and a conversation with Donald Sutherland discussing his
reasons for agreeing to do the film. Catching
Fire has a full making-of documentary, as well as deleted scenes and a
commentary track with director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson. Mockingjay Part 1 has another making-of
documentary and commentary track, deleted scenes, two extras focusing on the
music Lorde contributed to the film, and a tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The final film fittingly comes with over 5 hours of bonus features. The
highlight of the extras is the 8-part making-of featurette, because apparently
even the special features need to be split up. There is also another audio
commentary track with director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson, a
photo gallery, artwork from the costume design, and a featurette on the Hunger
Games Exhibit, which found yet another way to cash in on the faithful fanbase.
Entertainment Value:
8.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 9/10
Special Features: 8.5/10
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