The Hunger Games is a long-running dystopian book and movie series written by Suzanne Collins. The first 3 books focus on Katniss Everdeen and her life after winning the 74th Hunger Games with her “star-crossed lover” Peeta Mellark. Shows her inner battle between pride and survival, then to her second time in the arena facing stronger and more intelligent competitors, to the final two movies where family and friends were lost in multiple ways, one villain t throughout the series was President Coriolanus Snow. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes focuses on Coriolanus when he was 18, and his love interest Lucy Gray Baird, the District 12 female tribute for the 10th annual Hunger Games.  

Cast:

One thing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does not lack is an impressive cast. Tom Blyth, a somewhat new actor was cast as the male lead of Coriolanus Snow. As Snow is a recurring character from the original films, there was a specific look his younger self needed to have, and Blyth succeeds at that. He plays the charming yet evil character so perfectly that it’s hard to hate him despite his constant foul behavior. Rachel Zegler who plays the creative and wild Lucy Gray Baird has been in the film industry for a few years now, playing Maria in the 2021 West Side Story and the not-yet-released 2025 Snow White. Her boyfriend Josh Andres Rivera, plays the heartwarming yet heart-wrenching Sejanus Plinth. Josh was also in West Side Story alongside Rachel playing Chino. The movie also featured some big names like Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis. Though their roles were smaller, their ability to give each of their characters such large personalities was something noticeable about them. Schwartzman’s character, Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman was a comedic and entertaining aspect of the film. Euphoria star Hunter Schafer was also in the film playing Coriolanus’ cousin Tigris. Tigris was featured in Mockingjay Part 2 as an elderly woman meaning her appearance in this film would have to match the older actor’s. This cast took all of the characters written on paper and beautifully turned them into real-life characters that made the movie impactful.

Music:

    Music is not something that is not new to the Hunger Games franchise. Katniss sings to her sister Primrose and her friend Rue. She also sings “The Hanging Tree” in Mockingjay Part 1, which became a song well-known within the series and is sung in the newest movie, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Lucy Gray Baird is in a band–or a “covey” as it is called in the film–and has many original songs. After being reaped, she used the stage presence as a chance to sing. She sings her song “Nothing You Can Take From Me”, which is sung twice in the film, though each performance has different emotions behind it. She wrote “The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird” and “Pure as Driven Snow” which both relate to her personal life, as she develops both a sense of self and a relationship with Coriolanus Snow. Another powerful musical scene is when Lucy sings in the arena as she wins the 10th Hunger Games. Being broadcasted to the whole country of Panem, she openly defends herself and shows the country that singing is what makes her the person she is. The franchise also has a habit of producing credit songs that describe the ending of the movies incredibly well. From Coldplay to Lorde to Taylor Swift, wildly talented artists are always chosen for the soundtrack, this year being rising pop singer Olivia Rodrigo. Her song “Can’t Catch Me Now” sums up the movie’s ending and Lucy Gray Baird’s character perfectly.

Similarities:

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the most recent film in The Hunger Games franchise, but its actual plot takes place before any of the originals. Because of this, there were things set up in the first 4 movies that called for an explanation, which was given in the new movie. For example, it is stated in the original series that The Hunger Games started after the ending of a rebellion. What’s not mentioned this rebellion formed. The devastating and thought-provoking answer to this question is provided in the film by Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), the dean of an academy that educated the mentors of the games. A lot of characters from the first movie are easily compared to ones from the newer one. For reference, Thresh and Rue, the tributes from District 11 in the first movie have very similar situations to Reaper and Dill, the District 11 tributes in TBOSAS. Thresh and Reaper were both protective of their younger female tribute, and sacrificed their life for theirs, though all 4 had unfortunate endings. Another unanswered question from the first movie that had been revealed was why President Snow had such a deep hatred for District 12. After living there for a few months and of course having a relationship with Lucy Gray, who was such an important member of District 12’s community, it could be argued he had made some room in his heart for the district. But after the violent and vicious ending to their relationship, it’s no surprise that he hated the district until his last breath. A small but memorable comparison was the mention of Katniss, the plant. Lucy Gray introduces “swamp potatoes” to Coriolanus, but says she prefers to call them Katniss. The plant becomes something commonly mentioned in their relationship since she often searches for it with her covey. This alluded to Katniss Everdeen and provided another reason why he disliked her so much. Lucy Gray and Katniss are very similar people, which is what ignited President Snow’s resentment towards Katniss and why he made her suffer so much.

Overall, The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian masterpiece that meets all of the expectations from the original movies. It is a 10/10 and I would recommend it to anyone, even those who don’t have an interest in dystopian films. In my opinion, it is the best out of all 5 movies besides Catching Fire, and it deserves all of the fame it is getting.