The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2

There are many ways in which the Hunger Games series of movies has been groundbreaking. It has given us a world-changing heroine in the mold of the countless boys and men Hollywood has cast in such a role, and showed the caricature up by depicting her as more human than most of them: more conflicted, more afraid yet also more brave. Katniss Everdeen has never been about some romantic notion of heroism; she has always been about protecting the people she loves. The series has given us a world in which women are presumed to be as capable as men, and has delved into the potent influence of propaganda.

With the final installment, we might even see all the films that have come before as a kind of propaganda that has primed us to expect a certain sort of wrap up to the story of Katniss and her rebellion. What has already been one of the smartest and most enthralling science fiction film series ever sees itself to a thoroughly engaging and very fitting end by questioning all of our assumptions about war, politics and peace, particularly as blockbuster film series tend to present them. Where things go here might feel to some as if they are anticlimactic. There is no final battle that, as bloody and brutal as it could have been, represents a neat and tidy finale and a pat triumph of good over evil. Nothing here is that easy.

The thwarting of war-movie clichés starts early, when the public face of the people’s unrest, Katniss Everdeen (the amazing Jennifer Lawrence), doesn’t lead the rebels of District 13 in what everyone hopes will be a definitive assault on the Capitol. Instead, she’s bringing up the rear with the propaganda team, making videos that will hopefully sway the hearts and minds of the Capitol citizens who, naturally, aren’t on the rebels’ side.

There are real stakes here for Katniss, and high prices to pay before the rebellion she started is finally finished. And it’s the impact on Katniss that lingers most here. This film features some of the most breathtaking and original action sequences we’ve seen yet: Snow has turned the Capitol into a deadly obstacle course for the invading rebels. But matters of trust that haunt Katniss make this an emotional experience as much as an explosive one. Which is perhaps the most radical thing about this series as it concludes: not with a bang but with whispers of doubt, grief, regret and soul-searching.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY-PART 2 (3 1/2) Directed by Francis Lawrence • Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland • Rated PG-13 • 137 mins. • At Century Cinemas Del Monte, Maya Cinemas, Northridge Cinemas, Century Cinemas Marina, Lighthouse Cinemas, Cannry Row XD.