Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” a prequel to the Hunger Games franchise, hits theaters on November 17, 2023. This movie invites fans back into the intense world of the hunger games after an eight year gap without a new movie.
Warning there are slight spoilers ahead!
The movie focuses on 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow before he becomes the president of Panem. As the 10th annual Hunger Games approaches, Snow is assigned a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird a “tribute” from District 12. Throughout the games, things become clear that the stakes are high and people are willing to do anything to win.
Once the games conclude, the story follows Snow in his journey of becoming a Peacekeeper as well as his relationship with Lucy Gray. The storyline of this movie deserves four stars, it gives fans an inside look at Snow’s background and upbringing it doesn’t however give fans every detail of the story.
Even though this movie is another Hunger Games film, the visuals, and settings differ since this one takes place 65 years before Katniss Everdeen’s Hunger Games. Audiences see the capital in a post-apocalyptic, 1960s-style America. The special effects of this movie are well done and make everything look very realistic.
There are several scenes involving snakes throughout the film, but only two of the snakes are real. In several scenes, there is a large tank of vibrantly-colored snakes in Dr. Gaul’s lab all of which are special effects, which you would never know cause they look very real. These elements help give the movie five stars in visuals and special effects.
The casting of this movie was on point. Tom Blythe plays Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zeglar plays Lucy Gray Baird for the perfect duo. Both took their roles to the next level, fully committing and diving into their characters. Zeglar is known for her work in “West Side Story.” Her vocal talent is a feature in this film since Lucy Gray’s character is a singer.
Tom Blythe, known for his work in “Scott and Sid,” did an excellent job depicting young Coriolanus. Playing a character who is already hated is a difficult role to step into; Blythe did it with ease. Fans are obsessing over young Snow, turning him into an internet sensation. The rest of the cast is just as good as the leads, including actors like Viola Davis, Hunter Schafer, Burn Gorman, Peter Dinklage, and Ashley Liao. I would give the casting of this movie five stars, it was diverse and had a good mix of new and old actors.
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This movie is action-packed. To begin with, the Hunger Games are a fight to the death, with only one survivor. Since each tribute must fight to protect themselves, there are a lot of graphic images of them chasing and trying to kill each other. In comparison to the original Hunger Games, it has a similar level of graphics however since then the CGI and images have gotten better. This means that the killings look more real. I would give a fair warning to younger audiences or those who have difficulty handling violence. Because of this, I would give the action of the movie four stars.
Audiences are raving about the newest addition to the Hunger Games franchise. Since this movie is a prequel, it gives a deeper understanding of Snow’s history and the early years of the games. The film awakened a wave of nostalgia for fans of the original movies and books.
Another aspect of the movie that fans love is the music and singing. Lucy Gray Baird comes from a group of people who travel and sing. Throughout the movie, numerous songs are performed giving fans the perfect soundtrack to listen to on repeat after finishing the movie. I would give this movie five stars for entertainment.
This movie welcomes a new generation of fans to take part in this dystopian world. It’s worth seeing in the theater.
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