Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) Review

Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Haymitch Abernathy and co are back for the fourth and final time in Mockinjay – Part 2.

The big finale of the franchise and the most action-packed of the lot, right? Well, not exactly. After the slow build up of Part 1, I had higher hopes for Part 2 but it did not live up to my expectations. I found myself losing interest halfway through the film and I thought it was dragged out when they could have cut a lot of it out. Personally I think they could have made Part 1 and Part 2 in to one film but of course, like all big book-turned-blockbuster franchise, they knew they could make a lot of money going for the classic 2 part ending.

Part 1 ended with love interest, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), retrieved by the rebels but he is now brainwashed and despises Katniss (Jennifer Lawrance). After trying to strangle her to death, he is now confined to a room where he is strapped to the bed. Part 2 begins where we left off with Katniss struggling to talk after Peeta’s attack. But the girl on fire has to recover quickly as she still has a battle on her hands with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in a bid to rebel against the Hunger Games and stop it from taking place ever again.

The emotional parts however felt rushed. I will try to avoid spoilers but there were a possible 2 or 3 big dramatic key points in the film that had no real feeling to them. A lot more could have been done to create a bigger impact for the audience and made us walk away remembering the film afterwards. Mockingjay – Part 2 was highly concentrated on the visuals and whilst some scenes looked fantastic, that took away from the deep, heartfelt moments that could have been.

I also found there wasn’t enough Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) throughout the film. In the book, he is such a big character but I found he didn’t have much screen time in Mockingjay – Part 2. And we can never see too much Liam Hemsworth. Jennifer Lawrance was flawless however and once again gave a wonderful performance of Katniss Everdeen.

Overall, I found Part 2 to be at best mediocre. It wasn’t a bad film but it was neither memorable or exiting either.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Ant-Man Review

When we watch any Marvel film, we are made to take ourselves away from reality and live in a fantasy “beyond the impossible” world and that can definitely be said for the viewers of Ant-Man where our protagonist in no other than an ant-sized superhero with inhumane strength. It is a bizarre story-line in a world where we know superheros like Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, and Captain America but once you get your head around the concept of a miniature superhero, the film itself is full of excitement and adventure, with the odd funny moments (I’m talking about you, giant Thomas the Tank Engine).

I was skeptical about this film at first but having heard many good reviews about it, I decided to finally watch it and I can honestly say it was worth the wait. A lot of thought has been put in to the production of this film to make it as exciting as possible and the special effects team has pulled out all the stops to make this as thrilling as possible for the viewer. Simple objects become an obstacle for Ant-Man; from running tap water in the bath, people walking, a maze of grass – everything seems so much more frightening when you’re the size of an ant.

Funny man, Paul Rudd, plays our protagonist, Scott Lang, an ex-con who is ready to turn his life around after a small stint in prison. Lang is battling between holding down a job and maintaining his relationship with his daughter, Cassie, however when he hears about a potential large score at Dr. Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) and his daughter, Hope’s (Evangeline Lily) house. Lang feels like he has no other choice but to break in and steal what is inside the high-tech vault in order to gain some money and afford child support for his daughter but once inside the vault, he realises nothing is in there except for an odd-looking suit. Deciding to take it anyway, Lang gets home and tries it on which is where we first get to see the power of the suit.

The suit, created by Dr. Hank Pym, has the ability to shrink the body whilst magnifying the strength of the person wearing it. Dr. Hank Pym and Hope make themselves known to Lang and informs him they allowed him to steal the suit and want him to put a stop to antagonist, Darren Cross’ (Corey Stoll) plans and stop him from creating a replicate of the Ant-Man suit, called the Yellowjacket.

So of course, Ant-Man and co train together and go on a mission to stop Darren Cross. And as always there’s an epic fight scene at the end of the film!

Ant-Man gives us everything we want in a superhero film and there’s even an appearance from an Avengers who Lang apologizes too before beating up, creating many laughs in the process.

Paul Rudd may possibly be one of the most likable superheroes yet and he proves that not all Marvel films need to be dark and intense but he has fun with his character and creates a lot of light-humor within the film.

Ant-Man may possibly be one of Marvel’s strangest superheros but he is also one of the most enjoyable to watch.

Overall Rating: 4/5

‘Jurassic World’ Review

Being a 90’s child, I just had to see Jurassic World and so last week, me and a few friends went off to the cinema to watch one of the most talked about films out right now.

Jurassic Park was the film of my generation, although I have to admit that although I did watch the films when I was a child, they weren’t something I loved. Nevertheless, I still had to see Jurassic World, which was released 22 years after the very first Jurassic Park film, to see how it differed from the original films. And Chris Pratt practically convinced me to go and watch the film as no one can object to staring at him for a good 2 hours.

For me, this was everything I wanted in a new Jurassic World film; the dinosaurs were epic, the plot was simple yet engaging, and the special effects were breathtaking. The original films are seen as classics for many and this new version could have been very disappointing in comparison but I found the end results were enjoyable, although I’m not sure anything could have beaten the originals.

The dinosaurs are so realistic and whilst watching the film, it is hard to believe they are computer-generated robots. Technology has vastly improved since the 9o’s but this long-awaited film proves that the creators still have it in them to create a successful, largely talked about film.

Jurassic World see’s the dinosaurs in a zoo-like attraction which attracts a vast amount of tourists. including park administrator Claire’s (Bryce Dallas Howard) nephews, Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson). With the park trying to attract even more tourists, the science geeks of the park create a new, bigger and scarier dinosaur for the park, which they name the Indominus Rex, however the dinosaurs is smarter than they anticipated and it soon escapes, causing everyone to panic. 

Watching Jurassic World will make you wish for this dinosaur theme park to actually exists, although maybe it’s a good thing it doesn’t seeing as the troubles the characters find themselves in.

I found this film catered for the original fans and gave us bigger and better dinosaurs, but it can also be watched as a stand-alone film which is ideal for the newer fans.

I personally loved it and found it a lot more thrilling than I originally thought I would; the special effects are outstanding and it is a film that is definitely not to be missed this summer.

Overall Rating: 4/5

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ Review

I went to see ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ at the cinema recently and wow, I was amazed! This film initially didn’t strike my interests as it looked very much like a male dominate movie and from the trailers on TV, it looked like a lot of fighting, guns and gadgets were involved. I do like action movies but at the same time, they are not my first go to movie of choice so it didn’t really strike up my interests and it was definitely not on my list of must-see movies. However, a group of friends invited me to the cinema and with having nothing better to do, I agreed to go along. And I am so glad I did.

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is hilarious and witty, with some superb acting from Colin Firth and Taron Egerton. Seriously guys, this film is hilarious! It is no where near as serious as I thought it would be but instead is charming, quote worthy and intellectual. The movie kept me gripped from beginning to end and I couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen for even a second.

So what is this film about? Well, the storyline revolves around Eggsy, (Taron Egerton)  who has now come of age and is recruited by a member of the Kingsmen, Harry Hart (Colin Firth) to join the group and undergo training. Eggsy soon discovers that his biological father (now deceased) was also a Kingsman and it is now Eggsy turn to follow in his fathers footsteps. However, unlike posh, well spoken Harry, Eggsy comes from a very different background which makes watching him try to fit in and become a Kingsman a very funny watch indeed. Eggsy is put through training alongside other potential recruitment’s. All Eggsy has to do is beat the others and come out on top and he will become the newest Kingsman member. Sounds simple, right? Well, not if tasks include trying to survive whilst jumping out of a plane without a parachute.

And we can’t have good guys without the bad guys, right? And in ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’, this bad guy is delivered in the form of Samuel L Jackson. He plays Valentine, who has a thick lisp and loves to wear baseball caps and dine on Big Macs. He is also the creator of a micro sim that, when inserted in to humans, sends them in to crazy, killing machines. He also has a crazy, evil sidekick, Gazelle, (Sophie Boutella) who has prospective razor legs which she uses to kill people.

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ includes a brilliant, all star cast. Not only is the brilliant Colin Firth and Samuel L Jackson two of the main characters in this movie, but there is also an appearance from Micheal Cane.

This is a truly brilliant movie and is sure to make you laugh. You don’t have to be in to action or spy movies, or even enjoy movies of a violent nature to enjoy ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’. This movie was a pleasant surprise and much better than I initially thought it would be.

Overall Rating: 4/5