The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes review — a prequel done right

To be honest, I was not particularly looking forward to watching The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. I had not read the prequel novel that Suzanne Collins wrote following her worldwide phenomenon Hunger Game trilogy, so only knowing that the movie would dive into the origins of Donald Sutherland's villainous President Snow seemed like standard prequel fodder from Hollywood trying to capitalize on a hit franchise that had been dormant for eight years. So I was pleasantly surprised when I left the theater and couldn't deny that The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was a good watch.

This is how a prequel should feel. Though we know the overall outcome — young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is hardened into the man who would become the ruthless leader of Panem during the main trilogy — it successfully lays the breadcrumbs for that transformation throughout, allowing us to understand and lament the character's turn. It also effectively weaves in many of the things that we know from the original franchise without them feeling forced (though there is one easter egg that is quite heavy handed). Yet it is able to be its own story, probably enjoyed the best by those who know the franchise but accessible for newcomers as well.

However, while the world-building and general arc of young Snow stands out, only a few other things prove to be exceptional in the movie, namely Viola Davis' fun, campy performance and director Francis Lawrence correcting a mistake of the original franchise. 

For those who may not be familiar with Collins' source material like I was, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes place 64 years before the events of the first Hunger Games movie about Katniss Everdeen. Coriolanus Snow and his family have been ruined by the war that divided Panem, but because of his father's legacy he still is given the opportunities to succeed in the rebuilding Capitol. That includes being a mentor to one of the tributes from District 12 in the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), who he forms a deep bond with.

This is a big story, confirmed by the movie's runtime, which comes in at two hours and 37 minutes (more evidence that movies are getting longer). But you know what, it earns that runtime and corrects a mistake from the original trilogy, splitting Mockingjay into two movies (Lawrence said he regrets the decision). There are very distinct halves of this story that could have easily been split into two movies, but Lawrence and company let it play out as a single, complete story, rather than a disjointed, spread thin pair of movies, which was the right decision.

Lawrence should also be commended for helping to build a different kind of Hunger Games (with the help of Collins source material and an adaptation by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt). The look of the Capitol, still recovering from the war, and the state of the Hunger Games, much more dirty and straightforward than the lavish production of Katniss' era, are fascinating new elements. Lawrence also reminded us how good he is at staging exhilarating sequences in the arena, like he did in Catching Fire, which for me was the highlight of the original trilogy.

In front of the camera, the actresses are the standouts. Viola Davis is great as the fiendish gamemaker Dr. Volumina Gaul, leaning into her maniacal nature to deliver a classic campy performance. Then there is Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray, whose big southern drawl is a bit distracting at first, but you get used to it and she gives another strong turn in her young career.

Unfortunately, Tom Blyth struggles to make a real dent in the lead role. He's not bad by any means, rather he's doing just enough to give the story what it needs but little more. The same can be said for most of the other male stars of the movie, most notably Peter Dinklage, who feels like he's on cruise control as he plays the creator of the Hunger Games, Casca Highbottom. An exception, Jason Shcwartzman, who plays Lucky Flickerman, the first host of the Hunger Games (and the father to Stanley Tucci's character Caesar Flickerman), giving him the chance to have more fun than most of his co-stars.

We've seen plenty of bad prequels in Hollywood, with so many winks and nods to original movies that audiences are constantly rolling their eyes. Or prequels focusing on characters or events that didn't need to be explored any more. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes avoids these traps, providing a worthwhile look into one of the Hunger Games more intriguing and enigmatic characters. It's not perfect, but you'll be hard pressed to not have the movie capture your attention.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes releases exclusively in movie theaters everywhere Friday, November 17.