After being attacked by Peeta Mallark (Josh Hutcherson), who was brainwashed by President Snow (Donald Sutherland), Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has recovered from her injuries. President Coin (Julianne Moore) of the Panem rebels sends her to join in the assault on the Capital’s armoury in District 2, the last district still loyal to Snow. She is shot by a civilian but saved by her Mockingjay costume.
Katniss sneaks aboard a helicopter for the Capital to kill Snow. This is against Coin’s orders, but she plays along. Katniss is part of the Star Squad, along with Gale Hawthorn (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick Odair (Sam Clafin), and Peeta, who is still not recovered but must be in the propaganda videos. Team leader Boggs (Mahershala Ali) is fatally wounded and gives Katniss the holographic maps. A booby-trap disturbs Peeta’s conditioning and he attacks Katniss.
Katniss refuses to kill Peeta. They are trapped in a building by Snow’s Peacekeepers, who destroy the building, and Snow broadcasts a message that Katniss is dead. President Coin makes an impassioned plea to avenge her. The team escapes through the sewers, but they are attacked by genetically modified Mutts, who kill Finnick and others. Katniss destroys them by rigging the hologram device to self-destruct and they take shelter in a house.
Snow has Capital citizens surround him with a human shield. Katniss and Gale secretly join this group. Some citizens are caught in a crossfire and bombs are dropped. Katniss’s medic sister Prim (Willow Shields) is killed, and Katniss is knocked unconscious. When she awakes, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) tells her the rebels have won. She confronts Snow, who is a prisoner awaiting execution. He tells her that the bomb was set by Coin, and she is responsible for Prim’s death.
Coin calls a meeting and declares herself President—you know: Until things settle down and they can have elections. She wants to have a Hunger Games with the children of Snow’s loyalists. Katniss asks to kill Snow, but she kills Coin instead. Katniss is arrested, but Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) pardons her and she can return home to District 12. There will be no more Hunger Games. She finds a fully recovered Peeta at home. Commander Paylor (Patina Miller) becomes President. Years later, Katniss and Peeta play with their children.
The film, last in the Hunger Games tetralogy, was directed by Francis Lawrence from a script by Peter Craig at the same time as the previous movie. The entire series was based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. The movie’s gross was less than hoped, but it received favorable reviews, though some thought there was no need for so many movies. It was nominated for a Saturn and three Empire Awards. Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress at the Critics Choice Awards. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s unfinished scenes were rewritten after his death.
In Israel, posters featuring Katniss were not used, as posters with women on them are often torn down by ultra-conservatives. Katniss’s red outfit on the posters and DVD boxes did not appear in the movie. Katniss’s and Peeta’s children were played by Jennifer Lawrence’s nephews. The kiss by Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks was unscripted and was worked out between them. The tone of the film is dark and violent, but there are only ten minutes of actual combat. The series has my respect for living up to its dystopian credentials. Instead of a utopian victory, it warns that any government can turn dystopian if not controlled by the people, and freedom is a constant struggle.