While The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 is one of the movies that I have been looking forward to all year, the release is tinged with sadness as we are going to say goodbye to heroine Katniss Everdeen.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
Yes, the final movie is here and looks like Jennifer Lawrence, director Francis Lawrence and co are set to go out with a band with the biggest, most action-packed, and devastating movie yet.
The Hunger Games has been a wonder adaptation of the novels by Suzanne Collins and we look back at some of the franchise's best moments so far. BEWARE POTENTIAL SPOILERS
- 'I Volunteer As Tribute' - The Hunger Games
It was back in 2012 when The Hunger Games first hit the big screen and the first major memorable moment came when Katniss Everdeen volunteered in place of her sister to be the female representative for District 12 at the Hunger Games.
Not only is this the first heroic moment that we see from Katniss, it also shows the lengths that she will go to to protect her family - especially younger sister Prim. It is the moment that turns Katniss' life upside down and starts her on her journey and her battle against the Capitol.
- Grabbing Everyone's Attention In The Training Centre - The Hunger Games
Once in the Capitol, the tributes are but through their paces in training before they are scored and presented to the public with a series of interviews.
Of course, we all know Katniss to be an excellent shooter with a bow and arrow - grabbing everyone's attention with this skill. It is this move that marks her as the favourite to win the Hunger Games before they go into the arena... it also makes her a target for the other tributes.
- Death of Rue - The Hunger Games
Even though the Hunger Games are a fight to the death and it is all about the last one standing, Katniss teams up with Rue once they get into the arena. Rue watched over Katniss when she was stung by tracker jackers and Katniss repays her by hunting for food. Together they hatch a plan to destroy the supplies that the other tributes are protecting.
Sadly, Rue is killed and Katniss sits with her as she is dying before saluting the people of District 11. It is a heart-wrenching and touching moment that is one of the first film's most powerful. It is also the moment when the tide begins to turn against the Capitol and Katniss becomes a symbol of hope and revolution.
- Gale Gets Whipped - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The beginning of Catching Fire sees Katniss and Peeta tour the districts to celebrate their triumph. At the same time, President Snow is cracking down on District 12 to stop Katniss from becoming a symbol of revolution.
When Gale attacks one of the new peacekeepers, he is made an example of and publicly whipped. But Katniss once again shows that she is willing to protect those she cares about most as she steps in to try and halt the whipping.
- Wedding Dress: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Throughout the first two movies, Katniss wears some wonderful dresses as she is introduced to the Capitol ahead of both Hunger Games. However, it is the dress in the second movie that is perhaps the best costume moment.
The dress that she wears in her interview with Caesar Flickerman is the wedding dress she was due to wear in her marriage to Peeta. However, Cinna has rigged it to turn into a mockingjay - this dress leads to Cinna being beaten and dragged away.
While the dress transformation is a wonderful moment, I like the fact that the tributes join hands and stand united and in defiance at the Capitol.
- Death of Mags: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Mags is one of the new characters introduced in Catching Fire and is a former winner of the Hunger Games. In the arena Katniss allies herself with Mags and Finnick Odair - both from District 4.
But when Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, and Mags come under attack from a poisonous fog, the elderly Mags sacrifices herself freeing Finnick to carry an injured Peeta to safety. Another heart-breaking moment in the arena.
- Katniss Destroys Arena: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The film's climax sees the remaining tributes in the Hunger Games band together to destroy the arena. The group have worked out that the arena is designed like a clock and lightning strikes a particular tree ever twelve hours.
With the help of Beetee, Katniss is able to shoot an arrow when the lightening hits that causes a power failure that destroys the forcefield around the arena as well as the Capitol's surveillance. This allows an aircraft to enter the arena and get some of the remaining tributes to safety in District 13.
It is this action by Katniss that really does signal a rise in the districts against the Capitol and revolution is in the air.
- The Hanging Tree: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Mockingjay Part 1 hit the big screen last year and really set the scene and laid the foundations for Mockingjay Part 2 - it is a movie that is the calm before the storm.
Katniss is being followed by a television crew in District 13 and has become the Mockingjay symbol that everyone wanted her to be. In this quiet moment they capture her singing The Hanging Tree.
Katniss' performance is coupled with people fighting back against the Capitol as hope of a better future spreads through Panem.
- 'If We Burn, You Burn With Us' - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
By becoming the Mockingjay, Katniss is now used as a figure of propaganda to help bring the people of Panem together and to show off their resolve to the Capitol.
This moment, Katniss gives an unprepared speech down the camera to President Snow and it is one of the film's most powerful moments and most memorable lines.
- Peeta Chokes Katniss - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
When the arena was destroyed at the end of Catching Fire, Peeta was captured and taken to the Capitol where he is being used as propaganda to quash the rebellion.
Towards the end of the film, District 13 send a rescue mission into the Capitol to get Peeta, Johanna and Annie. But when Katniss is finally reunited with Peeta in District 13, he attacks her. There's also a lovely moment for Finnick as he is reunited with Annie.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 is released 19th November.
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