Hunger games

THE final instalment of the dystopian thrillers, based on the books by Suzanne Collins, heralds full-blown war between the unified Districts and the heavily armed forces of Panem.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) recovers after her bruising encounter with brainwashed Hunger Games competitor Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).

She recuperates in the company of lovestruck childhood friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), chaperone Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), architect of the rebellion Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the President of District 13, Alma Coin

(Julianne Moore).

President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is preparing for their assault on the Capitol and has planted pods as booby traps around the evacuated city to annihilate invaders before they can reach his mansion stronghold. Katniss, Peeta and other allies venture behind enemy lines to launch a covert strike on Snow and bring about lasting peace.

However, the casualties of war are high and Katniss must watch in horror as the people she loves are put in terrible danger including her plucky sister Primrose (Willow Shields).

Since the first of the four sci-fi dystopian films was released in 2012, the record-breaking franchise has taken audiences by storm, grossing more than 2.2billion US dollars at the global box office.

Yet while Catching Fire and Mockingjay - Part 1 subsequently continued the page-to-big-screen love affair, it’s director Francis Lawrence’s (I Am Legend, Water for Elephants) thrilling and powerful instalment of Mockingjay - Part 2, that brings the perilous chapter to an end. And in spectacular fashion.

Emotions are high as the stakes for Katniss escalate from surviving the most deadly games ever devised, to setting the course of the future. The story picks up with the leading lady back in the bunkers of District 13, still unable to reach a brainwashed Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson), as she watches the nation of Panem sliding into full-scale apocalyptic war.