From “The Hunger Games”, to “Catching Fire”, to “Mockingjay Part 1”, and now the end is finally upon us.

“Mockingjay Part 2”, the fourth and final installment of “The Hunger Games” series filled any and all expectations I expected it to be.

After surviving the arena twice and becoming a well known figure for all those who watch the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen from District 12 is a symbol for a new era for Panem. With the help of others, she plans to unite the 12 districts together and lead a rebellion against the Capitol and President Snow, stopping the inhumane Hunger Games once and for all.

From the beginning to the end, I was captivated by the action, the intensity, the raw emotion taking place on screen.

For that, I can thank the actors and actresses who have done stunning performances that truly portray their characters and how they’re feeling.

Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Katniss, does a phenomenal job capturing how broken yet driven our protagonist is all at once. Just looking into Lawrence’s eyes shows how tired Katniss is, displaying the change from her first time in the arena, to the point she’s at now. While she is determined to stop the tyranny of President Snow once and for all, Lawrence manages to display what Katniss has been through and how deeply it has affected her.

However, we can still see the girl on fire we’ve known since the beginning, her sass, her persistence, and her compassion.

As for her co-star, Josh Hutcherson does an almost terrifyingly realistic hijacked Peeta Mellark. After being tortured endlessly by the Capitol in “Mockingjay Part 1”, Peeta has changed and this is more than obviously apparent in Hutcherson’s appearance.

From his ruthless expressions or the sheer agony on his face, Hutcherson continuously tears me as to whether or not I’m afraid or sorry for him. Either way, it’s going to be excruciatingly heartbreaking whenever he’s around.

Director Francis Lawrence created some vivid action sequences, I often found myself holding my breath. They were amazingly well executed moments of nerve-wracking action one after another to show how dangerous their enemy is, yet fails to be overwhelming. To place it over the top, the special effects were disturbingly gorgeous.

While this movie was absolutely breathtaking, those who come for an exact replica of the book are deeply mistaken. The movie did a fairly decent job with making sure all the key moments took place. However, like many who are book before book adapted movie, I was a bit thrown off by noticeable character development missing and was slightly confusing at some points. That would be my only complaint although and with how wonderfully played out the movie was, capturing much of the dialogue straight out of the book, all can be pardoned.

Saying a final goodbye to the many other characters that have been memorable to the series such as Gale, Effie, Haymitch, Prim, Finnick, and so forth was extremely hard.

To those who have stuck by the movies since the first one came out four years ago, this movie is a must see. It was a thrilling, emotional, and very satisfying conclusion that wrapped up the whole franchise with a nice, big bow.

Nevertheless, the series will continue to live on to many and the odds will forevermore be in our favor.