^{By: Amanda Guarragi}

When The Hunger Games was released, it came off the tail of Harry Potter and Twilight. At that time, young adult novels became incredible book adaptations. Whether it was dystopian, fantasy or supernatural, teenagers had a blast with the variety in theatres. There was something for everyone to enjoy. Even though The Hunger Games was about an uprising to dismantle the Capitol that controls the districts, teenagers related to Katniss as a rebel. There was also a love story involved with Peeta, Katniss and Gale that had teens choosing a side, similar to Jacob and Edward in Twilight. Before superhero films, the general audience had these films to look forward to, and it was so satisfying to return to Panem in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It feels like no time has passed because of director Francis Lawrence’s seasoned and skillful eye for this franchise. Everything that audiences loved about the franchise has returned in this prequel. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a faithful book adaptation and a unique one as well. Suzanne Collins wrote this prequel with Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) as the main protagonist. When reading the book, it’s hard to sympathize with him, but there is still that shred of hope that maybe he wasn’t entirely evil. The film begins with Snow and his cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer) wishing him well during the Reaping as those in the Capitol became mentors for the tributes. After the war during the Dark Days, Snow lost his parents and didn’t have enough money to survive. The incentive for the students in the mentorship program was to be inventive with their ideas to gain more viewers for the Games. And if their tribute won the Games, the mentor would win a cash prize. Coriolanus wanted to help his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), stay safe and hopefully win the games. What he didn’t expect was to fall in love with her. Their relationship was intriguing based on status alone, and it would have been even better if they delved into Snow’s perspective of Lucy Gray even further. 

The film is well-paced in the first two acts as Coriolanus and Lucy Gray slowly begin to trust each other. The authoritative power in the Capitol is shown through Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) and Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), who service the Capitol in different ways. Dr. Gaul wants the Games to succeed, and she uses her student’s ideas to improve them. By doing this, the students get lost in implementing the disturbing cycle of the Games because they are safe in the Capitol. Dean Highbottom now oversees the Games because he was one of the students who created the concept. He never wanted to get to its 10th year and hoped they would come to an end, once and for all. Every character was utilized effectively to show the rise of Snow and the specific puzzle pieces that formed the villain we’ve come to know. The performances from every single actor in this cast were exceptional, from Blyth owning the role of Coriolanus Snow to Zegler outshining everyone with her tenacity and vocal range as Lucy Gray Baird to Josh Andres Rivera as Sejanus who made a poor choice and rebelled every chance he got. Everyone had moments to shine. And they all worked together to make one of the best prequel instalments for a franchise. 

Once they get to the Games, the ruthlessness from Dr. Gaul tends to rub off on Coriolanus. Davis was a delight to watch in this role because we haven’t seen her as a villain. She had the room to be dark and playful, which worked so well. There are moments where Gaul tests Coriolanus to see how his mind works. Whether he was writing a proposal with a friend, helping a friend in the arena or choosing the Capitol over everything else, she moulded him to become a product of his environment. Someone unable to break through the shackles of the Capitol because he craved his father’s status. The Games were executed perfectly as Lawrence staged each encounter Lucy Gray had with another tribute with precision. What worked well was placing what Dr. Gaul and Coriolanus were doing in the interim of Lucy Gray hiding in the tunnels. The entire second act was engaging and kept you on the edge of your seat. The 10th Hunger Games is unlike anything we’ve seen before, and thankfully, it didn’t feel repetitive. 

It is the third act of this film that felt rushed and took a hard pivot after gaining so much momentum during the Games. It slows down and shows the aftermath of Coriolanus’s actions during the Games. He is sent to become a Peacekeeper in District 12 to be close to Lucy Gray. Even though the film is entertaining throughout, this section could have benefitted from being longer. Two subplots are intertwined here, which gives Coriolanus the ultimate push into darkness. Coriolanus is deceived and betrayed by the people he cares about most and makes rash decisions that come to him naturally. He doesn’t show remorse and keeps moving forward because he has been in survival mode for a while, and Snow lands on top. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a near-perfect book adaptation for a beloved franchise. It felt as if we had never left Panem or the excitement of The Hunger Games franchise. Even though Coriolanus Snow becomes one of the best villains in the franchise, it is necessary to see his perspective because it adds so much depth to Donald Sutherland’s performance in the future.