The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - 2023

 


Genre: Action, adventure

Rating:  PG-13

Synopsis:  64 years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12

***

With the new book announced for 2025, I had to post my review of the latest movie adaptation.

Knowing the Snow character from the original story will give you a good idea of where the story is going, so throw any ideas of a redemption arch immediately out. But it is truly a journey watching how the character we all love to hate chooses paths that lead him to the future we know. 

The entire cast embraced the characters and brought new life to the Hunger Games name. Individual shout-outs have to go to Josh Andrés Rivera as Snow’s childhood friend, Sejanus Plinth, Peter Dinklage as the creator of the games, Casca Highbottom, and of course, Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird. Rachel crushed it and I was so proud of her. And girl those songs...Just fire!

Thankfully the best performance came from the man of the hour himself, Tom Blyth who played the younger Snow. For me, Tom made the movie worth watching as he embodied the character and showed the journey with incredible conviction.

I was so intrigued that I had to purchase the book after seeing the movie as I wanted to know what else had been included. Have not yet finished reading it yet so I do not know how the book plot follows in the movie but overall it was good. The ending was definitely ambiguous in places, which for me brought down the overall score, however, the rest of the story was good. 

As expected there were some references to the original books/movies and most were understandable. There were a few towards the end that seemed to be just fanfare but since I am a huge fan I did not mind too much. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really liked this one. It was not something I expected or even knew I wanted but honestly, it was a good ride. I think fans of the franchise will like this addition. 

Score: 8 out of 10. Recommend for fans of the franchise. 

Always Keep Fighting. 

You Are Enough. 

 

A R Pliley

 

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