Tuesday, January 2, 2024

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" Review

 

by John Zenoni


Well, another wonderful book with a mediocre film version. As a huge fan of The Hunger Games trilogy - ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Catching Fire’, and ‘The Mockingjay’ - I couldn't wait for the release of the prequel novel, ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’, which was released in 2020, set 64 years before the original novel. It goes into the history of President Snow and how he came to be.

I truly enjoyed the novel and didn't have any doubt that a film version would be made. While I enjoyed the trailer when released, the film itself is something I liked, not loved, by any means. There are a few exciting moments when it comes to the actual games/arena itself but other than that the presentation on the screen was just ok. In fact, the only real highlight of the film was seeing Viola Davis in action as Dr. Volumnia Gual, a role which she definitely played well. The main actors, while decent, were just not what I expected. Peter Dinklage and Jason Schwartzman were both underused in their roles, in my opinion, as well. If you are a fan of the trilogy and are interested in the origins of President Snow, do yourself a favor and stick to the novel and forget the film version.

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