I can only imagine the intensity of the flames that engulfed Suzanne Collins’ house because the masterpiece she was writing became too overwhelmed with power. The handprints I left on the arm rests of the movie theater seats will probably never fade because of the trance of anxiety and intrigue I was put under by this movie.

The film adaptation of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was released on Nov 17. It stars Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Hunter Schafer, and Peter Dinklage. Like the last three movies in the original “Hunger Games” franchise, it was directed by Francis Lawrence.

I wasn’t expecting to like this movie nearly as much as I did. While the cast members and trailers seemed promising, I’d been burned by bad prequels before, so my hopes still weren’t very high. But I love this movie. The costumes were gorgeous, the acting was amazing, sure it was like three hours
long but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

What I loved most about it were all the connections made to the original. The references were mostly subtle, but all of them put so much more meaningful background behind the original movies. Having seen the prequel, everything about the originals now just seems so much more significant and emotional to me. The soundtrack was so breathtaking, from the original scoring to Suzanne Collins’ strikingly impressive lyric writing, to Rachel Zegler’s emotional live performances on camera.

Rachel Zegler’s performance in this movie, both as a singer and as an actress, was so impressive. Her chemistry with Tom Blyth was great, and I loved the character of Lucy Gray. I loved seeing a new take on the winning tribute of the Hunger Games, especially with life after the games and how she was affected as a member of her district, and as a human being.

Tom Blyth did an amazing job portraying such a complicated character. While I never thought I’d have conflicted feelings about President Snow, I always tend to over-sympathize with a humanized villain. While he was controlling and manipulative and maybe slightly murderous for his own political gain, those maybe questionable traits were accompanied with ones that make it so hard to hate him. Controlling yes, but only because of his obsessive need to protect the people he loves. I could be wrong. The intensity of his blue eyes could
have me in a trance. Leave him alone!!

The supporting actors were such convincing characters as well. Peter Dinklage as a drunken, regretful founder of the Hunger Games was so depressing but in a good way. Jason Schwartzman as Lucky Flickerman, father of Hunger Games host Caesar Flickerman from the original movies, was just as impressive as Stanley Tucci’s original performance. The movie is PG-13 and technically a “family friendly” film, but I guarantee your kid won’t have senses heightened enough to appreciate anything that’s going on. If you want your kid to feel like they’re watching an adult movie, but still have shallow slapstick comedy to keep them drooling and entertained, just pop in the theater next door and watch “The Marvels”.