If you were expecting an epic battle for the final Hunger Games, you’ll be disappointed, but what you do get is so much better.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is a story about war and all the politics that go along with that, and the journey of one woman with the burden of saving her family, friends and the future. She’s being used as a puppet to unite the people, but Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is so much more than a puppet.

For the final installment, the Games are back. President Snow (Donald Sutherland) knows the rebels are closing in, so what does he do, he makes it into another Hunger Games and lets the capital watch. These games are not as intricate as the ones in the arena. They’re just destructive.

Katniss has a different goal than her companions. She’s set her sights on Snow and it’s very personal for her. There will be a lot of twists and turns before she comes face to face with him.

This war Katniss is fighting is very complicated. She’s got Coin (Julianne Moore) trying to use her every move for her own benefit and the lines get blurred between right and wrong. To win this war, it asks a lot of our heroine and Jennifer pulls if off beautifully. She’s broken, but still fighting. She’s still determined to save her family. To win she has to be smart, cunning and she has to be willing to sacrifice. She’ll risk it all for a better future.

The final Harry Potter had one of the most epic battles I’ve ever seen, but the Hunger Games’ finale was much more methodical. There was a point where I thought I was going to be disappointed. I thought that’s it, that’s the battle? Then the story took a turn and got so much better.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of action, because there is and there are a lot of losses. Get ready to say goodbye to some beloved characters.

Katniss also finally chooses between Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). It doesn’t matter who you originally wanted her to end up with, you’ll be very happy with her choice. It just feels right.

It won’t be an easy triangle to watch. Peeta still wants to kill Katniss and they have to find a way to trust each other again while they march on the Capital. This is some of the best stuff Josh has done in the entire series. He’s so lost. He doesn’t know what’s real and what the Capitol made up. The question is, can Katniss and his bond help him find his way again?

Gale continues to get to see more action in this movie and we get to see what this war has done to him.

There are a lot of heartbreaking moments in this film and it’s not what you’ll expect. It will keep giving you surprises to the very end.