By Sana Yousuf, Staff Writer
On November 17th, the highly anticipated Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was released in theaters worldwide. Directed by Francis Lawrence, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was released approximately 10 years after the original four Hunger Games movies were released. Although fans of the franchise were exceedingly excited for a new installment in the series, the movie raised a question for many: would The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes live up to the quality of the original Hunger Games movies, or would viewers leave the theaters disappointed?
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes serves as a prequel to the original Hunger Games movies. The story was originally published in book form in May 2020 by Suzanne Collins, the author of the Hunger Games series, and was adapted and produced into a film in early 2022. Starring Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, the movie follows the story of the Hunger Games series’ main antagonist, Coriolanus Snow. The plot details his early life, and the events that led to his eventual tyrannical rule as president.
Upon its premier, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was met with overall mixed reviews of both positive and negative acclaim from viewers. Many viewers who enjoyed the movie highlighted the impressive visuals in the film. Senior Olivia Bos explains “Overall, I thought it was pretty good. I won’t spoil it, but there were a bunch of cool scenes in the end, it was pretty clean.”
In contrast to the positive reviews, the movie also received a fair amount of negative critique and feedback. These reviews focused more on the characters and the plot itself. Senior Rahul Manchanda-Izquierdo states “I thought that they could have done a lot more to make the characters more interesting. A lot of them were one dimensional, and I thought that it was just okay.”
Some of the other complaints about the movie addressed the accuracy of the film compared to the books. Reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes explained that “The movie was okay, just a little unfinished. Many key events from the book were cut out, resulting in a movie that was somewhat unclear at certain points.”
I personally enjoyed the movie; the cinematography being a major reason for this. From eye-catching costumes to detailed sets depicting the setting of the Hunger Games, the film’s visuals took the story to the next level. As someone who went into the movie not having read the book, I found the storyline to be both clear and interesting. Although the movie felt somewhat rushed during certain scenes, I still found the movie to be an enjoyable and entertaining story.
Overall, I would recommend The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes to anyone looking for an exciting, fast-paced dystopian movie. From the action filled plot to the captivating visuals, the film is sure to keep both new and old fans of the franchise coming back for more, whether it is through watching the original Hunger Games movies or reading the best-selling book series.