“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” Review – Snow Lands on Top!

Personally, I absolutely loved The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes! I’m so glad that screenwriters Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt stayed faithful to Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel and seeing this whole world come to life on the big screen. While the film did cut out a number of scenes, the core of it was there with all of the important moments.

Watching the original The Hunger Games movies again before this prequel made me realise how much Panem has changed over the course of the years from the 10th to the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. The differences in the scale of the arena and the technology, as well as the fashion and mood of the districts. And most importantly, Snow as President.

Tom Blythe was brilliant as young Coriolanus Snow, which made it really hard to hate him as we watch him become a dark and manipulative person, and the root of how and why he became that old evil man we all know. He brought the charm and looks, while also remaining a strong and forceful character.

Rachel Zegler portrayed Lucy Gray Baird well, infusing the character with life and energy through her songs. However, there were moments where her performance felt slightly annoying, although this didn’t detract from the overall quality of the film. Her scenes with the snakes were particularly impressive. Despite the Covey’s storyline being somewhat overlooked, it didn’t bother me much.

I wish we got to see more of Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth as he was bringing the emotional moments, his rage and anger against the Capitol and his contempt towards the Games. I also would have liked to see Ma Plinth as she feels like a good character in the book.

Lucky Flickerman was an absolute joy bringing many comedic moments and I adore how similar Jason Schwartzman portrayed him, clearly mirroring Stanley Tucci’s Caesar as he is an iconic character in this franchise. He also perfectly portrays how the Capitol population see the Games as pure entertainment while for the Districts it is a brutal fight to the death and a reminder they are not free.

The cinematography by Jo Willems was gorgeous, especially certain shots during the Games, alongside the lake scene and final forest scenes. It was beautiful to look at and it really brought us into Panem with the movement and angles. The score was also really well done, plus Olivia Rodrigo’s song in the credits which I’ve had on repeat! Also, justice for Hypnotic Brass Ensemble’s “War,” not being used.

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On to the negatives, I would have liked to have seen more of Clemensia Dovecote (played by Ashley Liao) as after the snake attack as that was something in the book I really enjoyed with her developing colourful scales, and it also would’ve heightened the fear of Volumnia Gaul, even though Viola Davis was great. I also think the love story could have been developed better between Snow and Lucy Gray so we could have believed it more and therefore had a more emotional impact.

Overall The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was such a wonderful film and many of the scenes were just as I had imagined them, I can’t wait to give this a re-watch again soon! Such a great addition to overall franchise.

‘The Hunger Games 5’ Rating – 4/5

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