The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes may be the best Hunger Games movie so far. It was captivating and had a thunderous feeling throughout.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a prequel to The Hunger Games before Snow turned into the world-renowned President Snow (Donald Sutherland). It follows the early life of President Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), a smart, and fragile-minded boy who tries to bring honor back to the Snow name and follow in his father’s footsteps. As the 10th annual Hunger Games approaches, he and his classmates are waiting to be matched with a contestant from one of the 12 districts, and fortunately, he gets paired with Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a singer, and opportunistic girl from district 12. Since the beginning, the people of the capitol are mesmerized by this songbird, but both Snow and Gray know it won’t be an easy win for either of them.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was released in theaters on November 17, 2023, and runs 2 hours and 38 minutes. The director Francis Lawrence was the original director behind the three previous Hunger Games films which without a doubt was the reason it delivered the same dystopian feel.
The plot was truly outstanding and the chemistry between Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler was unfathomable. As the movie progresses their mentor-mentee relationship slowly starts to turn into love and passion for each other. However, their relationship is filled with equal parts lust and mistrust, which lead people to be on the edge of their seats in admiration and suspense. The acting, edginess, and little easter eggs connecting Lucy Gray Baird and Katniss Everdeen were just perfect.
Rachael Zegler’s interpretation of Lucy Gray Baird was beyond perfect. Nobody could have done half as good a job as she did. Even more than her incredible performance, her singing was angelic. Her live performances on set and vocals gave this film life. Her first film, which put her on the map was “West Side Story ” which displayed what Zegler is capable of. The movie fanatic community is excited for her upcoming film “Snow white” for not just her interpretation of this historic and iconic character but to hear this songbird’s vocals once more.
Tom Blyth’s portrayal of young Snow was phenomenal. He brought Coriolanus off the page and onto the screen. His character was charismatic and psychotic at parts and Tom perfectly performed that. Snow’s character goes from this kind, young, soul to a monster that is heartless and ruthless.
This film is categorized as action/adventure and rated PG-13 for strong violence and disturbing material. There should be caution with some younger audiences however this film is overall family-friendly and is a must-watch for dystopian and thriller lovers.
10/10
