The lack of fulfillment in war is at the core of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2."

Picking up exactly where the last installment, "Part 1," left off, the film pits Katniss in a rather tricky situation. Her lover Peeta hates her because his mind has been warped by President Snow to react violently against her. Meanwhile, the rebels are planning an assault on Panem's capital and Katniss is being left on the margins.

Eventually she decides to go rogue. She infiltrates the capital herself and start a mission to take out Snow on her own, bringing about a tremendous amount of tragedy.

Heading into the final installment of the four-film epic, it was clear that there would be tremendous casualties. A big war requires it and there is simply no reason to expect that every major character gets his or her happily ever after. And so it is that with the Hunger Games, the atrocities of war come to the forefront, wiping out one major and minor character after another. And when all is said and done, it winds up being rather pointless, as demonstrated by the film's anti-climax. In that respect the film is rather earnest in its intent and successful. 

For the most part.

Where "Mockingjay Part 2" really lacks is exactly where one would imagine that it would be deficient.

Remember the first part of this two-part film? If you don't, let me remind you. It was a lengthy marathon of one political speech after another between the rebels and the establishment as they prepared for war. It sure made a statement about the use of media in modern politics and war, but the predictable back and forth really did little to raise the stakes. The film was clearly not intended to be an action film, but few would have expected a monotonous snooze fest in which the main character is as passive as it gets.

As this new film initiates, Katniss is where we have grown to see her over the course of this tetralogy/trilogy -- in a hospital bed. She appears in a hospital bed at least two more times in this film, delineating just how repetitive and unimaginative some of the writing and staging for this series has become. Then the audience sits through what feels like 30 minutes of reunions with other characters that have minor impact on the story before Katniss makes her decision to run off to the capital. For a film that is supposed to be the grand finale and a follow-through on everything that happened in its first part, it sure feels as if it needs to lay more groundwork for what is to come (and ultimately never does come). An entire scene is dedicated to Katniss in the hospital bed catching up with Johanna who was largely absent in the previous film. The scene really adds little new to the plot as the characters converse on things that we have already experienced through Katniss minutes earlier. Johanna does crop up later to move the plot along, serving her one necessary function to the story. While one might understand the need for fans to get the full closure, the reality is that the film suffers as a result with the pace never quite finding its way in the early going. This is rather predictable when one considers the need to expand half a book into a two-hour running time.

The second act suffers from a similar situation early on with the characters walking about the city searching for traps. It starts feeling a bit repetitive until finally the reality of war comes to the forefront and the film kicks into gear. From here on out, the filmmaking is filled with great suspense, "Mockingjay Part 2" starting to build toward Katniss' true goal -- killing Snow.

And move it does, all the way toward its anticlimax, which intentionally obliterates any sense of catharsis for the viewer. On that end, one cannot complain. What catharsis can there be from violence and tragedy?

But then the film sags again in its endless epilogue that makes Peter Jackson's many endings for the "Lord of the Rings" franchise seem brief. To be fair, Jackson's endings were wrapping up a number of elements and each brought a new angle, while "Mockingjay's" ending seems lost for direction. While one might interpret this as a reflection on the main character's psyche, there is still a sense of inevitability and predictability that ultimately frustrates when it comes about after a long and arduous wait.

Once the film has reached its conclusion, there is yet another epilogue that has been added on that feels rather out of place in this story. While this new scene aims to bring hope for the future, its fairy tale feeling is rather out of place in a film that has, for the most part, felt rather grounded in a very real and dark world. It definitely caters to the teenage audience, but the film, to that point, feels that it has grown up from that audience. The regression is awkward at best.

Speaking of dark, this film is just that. Sometimes images are washed up in shadows that the visuals are not even completely clear. Major characters are constantly bathed in shadow, emphasizing their own insecure path and unsure destinies. Peeta's emotional struggle throughout the film is highlighted visually by light and dark as well as his constant presentation in profile for moments where his allegiance remains a mystery.

The performances are more or less as you remember them from previous films. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is cold on the exterior, but her face has a tendency to reveal a tremendous frailty. It is refreshing that by the end of everything, she is ultimately no superhero but just another vulnerable person struck by the horror of war.

Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is angst-ridden and insecure while Gabe (Liam Hemsworth) is stoic and calm. The love triangle still remains as underdeveloped as it ever was by the way. One scene has the two men actually talk about what they anticipate will be their future with Katniss. At one point, one character admits to the other that it really doesn't matter because the three will not make it out alive. At the end, that same character points out that it does not matter what they think, Katniss will have the onus of deciding. More importantly, there is no sense of a rivalry and neither guy really feels interested in pursuing Katniss, almost conformed to just give up without a fight. Obviously having this kind of development would be a distraction, but the triangle as showcased already presents a distraction. It's lack of tension only exaccerbates its seeming pointlessness in the overall narrative arc. She loves Peeta and has since the end of the first movie and start of second. We get it. End of story. Move on. No need to build false suspense where none exists. One wonders whether that aforementioned scene itself is self-aware at how inconsequential this sub-plot really is overall.

Fans of "The Hunger Games" will adore this film. Those who have lesser interest might struggle a bit with the film's mythos despite its universal, and dare I say timely, themes? This is not your traditional blockbuster with action setpieces placed in specific and formulaic moments. And thank goodness for that indeed. That said, the film remains a bit indulgent, a predictable outcome for a film that is ultimately really half of book and should have been combined with its cumbersome predecessor into a tightly wound film.