Once again, this series never fails to disappoint.

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2018)

It seems that as the series progresses, each movie becomes more scary, emotionally hard to take, and more complicated. I like how Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) progresses from a simple girl trying to save her sister to a symbol in a rebellion that could start a civil war. I also liked Peeta's (Josh Hutcherson's) progression in the interviews with Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) as he slowly tries to warn Katniss to think about what she is doing in terms of being a symbol in a revolution. Each character progresses in a different way, even Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).
Firstly, I would like to say that the acting is excellent. Jennifer Lawrence makes Katniss's fear for Peeta's life shine. As she sees the interview with Caesar Flickerman and realizes that Peeta is alive, she runs towards the TV screen and touches it. That is a sign that Katniss truly cares about Peeta at that point, which means that Katniss's love for Peeta becomes more real than it was in the 74th Hunger Games. It was easy to tell when the real Peeta shone through. The real Peeta always had watery eyes.
I also could tell that Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) was probably against Alma Coin, (Julianne Moore) who is the president of the supposedly-obliterated District 13. I was actually second-guessing myself on this fact, because at one point, he seems totally on Coin's side. At other times, he seems to disagree.
I liked the scene where Plutarch tries to convince Effie to stop feeling as if she's a prisoner. That was funny. I totally cracked up when Effie changed her mind by saying, "There isn't a soul in here who knows the first thing about Katniss" after Plutarch told her that he'll have to find someone else to be a part of Katniss's propaganda team.
I also found it funny when Katniss listed her conditions to President Coin, ending with, "My sister gets to keep her cat."
I was very excited when the rescue of Peeta, Johanna (Jena Malone), Annie (Stef Dawson), and Enobaria (Meta Golding) was initiated. I was anticipating Katniss's first meeting with Peeta since his capture, since I read the books first. The scene where Peeta chokes Katniss is MUCH more violent than in the book. In the book, Peeta just puts his hands around Katniss's throat. In the movie, he first shoves Katniss against a glass structure, and she breaks it. Then, Katniss falls to the ground and Peeta attempts to choke her. Because Katniss's face actually turned red, I wonder whether Josh Hutcherson actually had to choke Jennifer Lawrence while filming.
The last scene is scary and emotional the same time. I felt my eyes growing bigger as Peeta tried, violently, to break the straps that held him down while screaming. I felt so bad for Katniss when she was staring in shock at what the Capitol had done to Peeta.
Guide: Recommended for 14 and older, no cuss words, and emotionally hard to take. Peeta screaming as he tries to break free from his restraints might be disturbing to younger kids.