Warning: This review contains spoilers for basic plot information of The Hunger Games book trilogy and movie series.

The long awaited Mockingjay Part 2 has finally arrived, thus drawing the hunger games movie series to a close. Many famous and award winning actors and actresses have joined together to finish the franchise including Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks. The movie was released on November 20th this year, and had the best box office sales of all the movies out at the time during Thanksgiving break, passing up other great movies such as Creed; and The Good Dinosaur.

Because this was the last movie of the franchise, the producers knew this newest installment had to be perfect in every aspect including script, acting, set design, music, and everything else. The creators spared no expense in order to make the movie as fantastic as possible. Everything from the setting to the script had to be spot on, which is one of the reasons why it has been doing an excellent job in the box office so far.

One thing that The Hunger Games movie series has done better than many other book-to-screen adaptations is that it stays true to the books. While the movies do cut out some scenes from the book (in the interest of not prolonging the film), a lot of the dialogue between the characters is exactly the same as the dialogue in the books. It is as if the creators took the script straight from the book itself. This made the movie seem more like an actual movie adaptation of the book rather than a movie loosely based around the story. It’s something that really makes Mockingjay Part 2 stand out from other movies—and something that directors of other book-to-screen franchises should take notes.

Ever since the first book in the trilogy came out, the media has made the books about one thing: Team Gale vs. Team Peeta. The Hunger Games was a story of a dystopia where people were forced to murder each other in an arena for sport and how those people rose up against the forces that treated them so cruelly, and therefore its focus should not be on the romance. And while it would have been easy for the movie to put the love triangle at the center of attention as the media has, it did not and that made it extremely special.

The movie downplayed the amount of romance in the story (though if you’re into that kind of thing, rest assure, it’s still in the movie) and spent more time on the rebellion; particularly on how a rebellion destroys much before rebuilding society. The movie shows the atrocity and brutality of war by stressing the intensity of every situation. From the very beginning of the movie, Katniss seems to get no rest from the terrors she faces. From the loud volume of the explosions to the swiftness of the deaths of beloved characters, the pure intensity of the nonstop action enforces how serious the war is, and as a result,you will be drawn to what really mattered most of all in the story—the effect of rebellion and the strength of people who rise up in difficult times.

Overall, the movie was fantastic and a great way to end the movie series. From the book-to-screen accuracy to the intense scenes that will have you holding your breath in anticipation throughout the movie, Mockingjay Part 2 has to have been one of the best movies of the year.