You may not remember much, but during the tumultuous time of 2020, the book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was published – a prequel to the popular Hunger Games Trilogy. Thus, similar to its predecessors, began the movie production by director Francis Lawrence. Being over 8 years since the last Hunger Games movie, this movie brought a lot of anticipation, but also some controversy. Rachel Zegler, a renowned actress in the movies Shazam! Fury of the Gods and West Side Story garnered a lot of criticism for her lead role in Disney’s new upcoming movie Snow White. Yet, in my opinion, her performance as Lucy Gray Bird in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was more than expected. Tom Blyth, the other costar, was exceptional as well, displaying as President Snow’s younger self. Turning from a caring kid to President Snow which we see in the Trilogies has a lot to do with Blyth’s emotion through his acting. The last actor I would like to note is Viola Davis, who played Dr. Volumina Gaul – the ‘President Snow’ in this movie. She was great at being the tall, menacing, cold character that every antagonist needs to be. Davis’s acting helped show to the audience that her character, Dr. Gaul, had no weaknesses through her coldness. Other notable actors are Peter Dinklage (Casca Highbottom) from Game of Thrones and Josh Andrès Riviera (Sejanus Plinth) from The West Side Story.
I got the chance to witness this movie during Christmas Break, a few weeks after the original release, and was pretty happy as a result. Walking to the movie screen with nachos in hand, this long movie (almost 3 hours!) captivated me the whole time. I’d go as far as to say that this movie did what Avatar: The Way of the Water couldn’t – keep me awake. Rachel Zegler’s great singing performance – including a song by Olivia Rodrigo – was, in my opinion, a more than great addition.
Some common criticisms were that this movie had too many songs, but, if they look closer at the title, it is a ballad, which stems further away from the trilogies. Another way it is a little more different is that the movie is split into different acts (like a play), thereby giving less time to the ‘Hunger Games’ aspect that we are all so familiar with. Although some people may say that it takes away from the story, I believe that it adds more depth rather than the traditional killing of the games. I do admit that this take did not work so well in the third movie of the trilogy, but, in this instance, it fits the plot perfectly.
I would recommend this movie if you’re interested in the Hunger Games Series or any Sci-fi or Dystopian movie for that matter.
Plot …….. 9/10
Pacing ….. 6/10
Acting …… 8/10
Singing ….. 10/10
Rating …. 8.5/10
