“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” prequel to the renowned “Hunger Games” book and movie series, has finally been adapted from the page onto the screen.
The film premiered in theaters on November 17, and talk about the movie has been buzzing at Monte Vista ever since. In this prequel based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, the focus is not on the characters we know and love from the original trilogy. Rather, the story follows the upbringing of Coriolanus Snow, future president of Panem, as he faces tensions surrounding the tenth annual Hunger Games.
Snow, forced to mentor a tribute from District 12 named Lucy Gray Baird, is intent on her becoming the victor. The two teenagers form a quick bond, but differing morals inevitably surface and cause complications.
The film received a 66% on the Tomatometer and an 89% audience score. These imperfect ratings have been commonly attributed to the ending of the film, which some consider to be frustrating and incomplete. Monte Vista junior Katelyn Walsh had her own thoughts on the subject: “I liked the ending because it was very open-ended and you had to make up your own explanation for what happened, but I didn’t like it at the same time because by the end I felt a bit confused and sad. It was just a very dark ending with negative undertones.”
When prompted to rate the film on a scale of 1-10, Walsh settled on a 7/10. She felt that the film failed to provide enough background information about the creation of the Hunger Games, which is something she expected to see in the prequel. “I feel like the war in the Districts wasn’t really explained enough…[the prequel] really only set up the story of Snow and Lucy Gray,” Walsh said.
Additionally, the now infamous Rachel Zegler–the actress portraying Lucy Gray Baird–has been faced with recent online hate regarding interview moments for another film. With her starring role in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, she is another factor stopping many people from enjoying the movie–but definitely not everyone.
“I never really got the hate…I believe that she is a phenomenal actress, and she’s just a woman speaking her mind! [The drama regarding Zegler] doesn’t affect me personally, and I love her acting/singing, so it didn’t bar me from going and seeing her in this movie,” said Megan Zhang, Monte Vista Junior.
Zhang ranked the film an 8/10, stating that it was “almost perfect.” She enjoys how the Hunger Games movies teach many valuable lessons and provide a reflection on our modern-day society. She also loved the foreshadowing related to Katniss and her timeline in the trilogy 64 years later!
If she had to say what she didn’t love, however, it would have to be the amount of details cut from the movie that had been present in the book. To Zhang, this especially included the complete lack of Clemensia’s storyline in the film–a female student forced to mentor a tribute alongside Snow. Even so, Zhang enjoyed the movie more than the book, calling it “more straightforward.”
If character Casca Highbottom knows what he’s talking about, “mysteries have a way of driving people mad.” So, if you’re still left wondering whether this film lives up to the originals, I would suggest purchasing a ticket and a bucket of popcorn to find out for yourself.
