This is it; the earth-shattering moment that the entire Hunger Games franchise had been working towards. In a flurry of falling parachutes and explosions, an entire human barricade of children around President Snow's home are brutally killed. Amongst them, is Katniss' sister Prim. With her death, the entire purpose of Katniss' journey across three books and four movies essentially dies too. Everything Katniss has done, she has done to create a better world for her sister. It would be easy to criticise Prim's death as a gratuitous shock to bring the franchise to an end, but it serves a really important purpose in terms of triggering Katniss' final descent into chaos. Without Prim, she loses all sense of perspective and meaning, which is why she has such a crisis of trust in the final scenes of the book. It remains to be seen how this crucial scene will be dealt with in the film adaptation, but it is essential that director Francis Lawrence gets it right. With strong performances and an assured hand behind the camera, this could be the gasp-inducing emotional finale that the franchise certainly deserves.
Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.
