This is it, people. The climactic conclusion to the Hunger Games saga that is sure to wow the crowd: Mockingjay Part Two. But did it hold up to the hype? Let’s take a look.

In the world of Panem, a civil war has broken out between the people and the government. In the center of it all is one girl who has one heck of a story. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) survived two Hunger Games’ and sparked a revolution. This gives her name a lot of leverage, something people are eager to use to their advantage. After witnessing her star crossed lover, Peeta Mellark, (Josh Hutcherson) in his torture-induced deranged state, Katniss demands to be transferred to the front lines. War is a new concept to Katniss, and the casualties that have to occur weigh a burden on her. As the war gets more complicated, Katniss ends up in an elite team of young soldiers who are essentially sent out for propaganda. Just like everything else, something goes wrong and the mission quickly shifts from propaganda to killing President Snow (Donald Sutherland).

When it comes to being a good movie, did Mockingjay’s arrow hit the bullseye? Well, for the most part it did. My favorite part of the movie was watching how Katniss dealt with experiencing actual war. A scene early in the film depicts Katniss and her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) watching the rebel air support attempt to bury enemy forces. During this attack, Katniss is forced to accept the fact that in war good people die. It is clear that a lot of work went into this scene and it was acted, filmed and edited very well.

While dealing with war, Katniss also comes to realize that because of her influence over common people she had become a puppet to the higher ups, which brings its own realm of emotional strife. To top it all off, Peeta joins Katniss and her squad on the battlefield. He is really in no mental state to be doing much of anything. Sometimes it seems like Mockingjay is really just a movie about watching teenagers deal with their feelings in the middle of a battlefield. It actually worked surprisingly well.

In order to keep with that motif of maniacally twisted ways of killing people that the Hunger Games does so well, “pods” are introduced. Pods are little booby traps set up all over the capitol city that are made by Gamemakers, the same people who design the Hunger Games. Katniss and her team travel through the capitol avoiding these, but are not always successful. It makes for some edge-of-your seat action.

When the pods are first introduced and the first two come and go, I found myself thinking, “Is that all?” They really seemed to lack the sadistic imagination that I expected. Then came the oil, the capitol mutts and the wire nets. Things got dangerous and they often struck when I least expected it creating a delightfully scary and dangerous vibe that kept the movie interesting.

The majority of the film’s technical aspects such as camera work, acting and special effects were by no means groundbreaking, but they were far from bad. What this movie does well is tell a compelling story of war and how it affects the human psyche.

The downsides of the movie really only existed in the beginning and at the end, which is a side effect to the two-part finale formula. In the beginning some of the plot points feel rushed or just strangely out of place. Once the movie gets into it’s groove; however, it is paced perfectly.

My quarrels with the end of the movie could be denounced simply as nitpicking, but you will have to decide for yourselves.

All things considered, the movie has a pretty happy ending and feels out of place with the rest of the series. If the movie were to end with Katniss’ game changing realization after her chat with President Snow, it would have really driven home the concept of how unfair war is and the consequences of violence.

Imagine that cold color pallet with Katniss staring out the window at the rose garden realizing what had been done and then – bang – credits. A bitter end to a bitter story that can result in reflection towards why people fight each other.

Mockingjay has it’s moments in the beginning and I personally would’ve liked to see a different ending, but other than that, it is a movie worth your time. The acting never feels fake and the characters are believable. Katniss’ emotional journey throughout the film is thought provoking and the traps set up for her and her team are creepy and suspenseful. It proves to be an entertaining ride and interesting story about war, obsession and power. The movie has a 137 minute runtime and is still playing at R/C Kill Devil Hills Movies 10.