To the disappointment of a fandom that has grown immensely in a short amount of time, Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and the rest of “The Hunger Games” cast has ended their successful debut on the big screen, but not without a stellar finale that didn’t cease to amaze.
The second part of “Mockingjay” premiered last night, Nov. 19, marking the end of “The Hunger Games” trilogy’s time in the movie industry. Based off the novel by Suzanne Collins, the film stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, and Liam Hemsworth as Gale among other notable actors.
After almost four years since the first movie installment in 2012, movie fans were expecting a stunning finale, and fortunately, director Alan Lawrence achieved this. According to popular opinion, “Mockingjay” the novel was the hardest to follow in the series. However, the film somehow managed to follow the book’s events exactly while still creating an engaging plot.
Featuring numerous book quotes, compelling acting, and incredible special effects the movie has already proven to satisfy both book and movie fans. In fact, the film has already raked in almost $50 million in tickets on its opening night, projecting for a weekend of over $100 million in sales.

SPOILER ALERTS BELOW:
The film picks up right after Peeta’s and Katniss’s not-so-friendly reunion, quickly leading in to Katniss’s stowaway mission to the Capitol. Viewers will be pretty disoriented if they haven’t seen “Mockingjay: Part 1,” as it doesn’t provide much background info and just plays off of the last events.
Unlike the book, which most readers agree was at times hard to follow and complicated, the film made everything seem simple and not dragged out; yet, it followed the book’s events to a tee. It was not only easy to follow, but engaging as well due to the impressive special effects, set designs, and costumes. The various explosions and pod reactions as Katniss and her team trekked through the Capitol were done so realistically that people in the theater would jump in their seats or gasp in surprise when they occurred.
Not all the credit for the film’s success can be attributed to the producers, though. The actors were also extremely well-picked, each one (even minor characters) portraying their characters perfectly. This was especially noticeable in Josh Hutcherson’s performance as Peeta, who had a complete personality switch from the prequels. Hutcherson executed this perfectly, morphing from Peeta’s original, sweet character into one visibly manipulated by the Capitol’s methods.
“Mockingjay: Part 2” also gave viewers a more in-depth glance into the President Snow’s character, something the book was unable to do since it was told from Katniss’s first-person perspective. While this character development didn’t have a concrete plan to follow, the way it was executed was artfully done, making perfect sense to book fans while giving them something new as well.
The film ended with the notable, heart-wrenching epilogue. In the novel, this epilogue was a plain description with little imagery but mentions of major events in Katniss’s and Peeta’s future. Book fans were looking forward to a scene that depicted this epilogue, possible one of readers’ favorite parts of the book as a whole. Fortunately, fans were not disappointed, as the film’s depiction was on that went above and beyond expectations. The film artfully integrated the most noteworthy lines of the epilogue’s description into Katniss’s verbal language, while giving it a tangible setting, leaving viewers both conflicted with emotion and satisfied with the movie’s depiction.
For both book fans and movie fans, “Mockingjay: Part 2” is sure to amaze viewers, artfully crafted with original ideas yet following the novel with an accuracy that is hard to find nowadays.