The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

"I don’t think that Francis Lawrence is capable of making a bad Hunger Games adaptation and this movie just proved it. It hit every single jaw dropping moment right on the money. Tom Blyth was a revelation as Snow. He had a hard act to follow in trying to emulate Donald Sutherland while also bringing a glimpse of humanity to the character, but he did it and then some. I can’t wait to see him shine in Hollywood. His constant scene partner, Rachel Zegler, was absolutely mesmerizing as Lucy Gray. It felt like she jumped straight out of the book. Her voice, which is always pitch perfect, was enchanting and brought a haunting, mysterious element to the film’s songs. Besides Rachel and Tom, the standouts in terms of acting were definitely Josh Rivera, Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage. Josh was such a lovable tragic hero as Sejanus. I hope this film catapults his career because he is truly talented. Viola Davis was genius, as per usual, as the maniacally evil Dr. Gaul. She had this ever present unstable look in her eye that made you uneasy every time she was on screen that simultaneously captivating. Peter Dinklage, despite having less screen time than I anticipated, delivered a stirring performance as Highbottom and his one liners were some of the best moments of the film. Another notable performance was that of Hunter Schafer as Tigris. She did great, but I will say, in my opinion, she could have done better. I don’t know if it was a purposeful acting choice, but she whispered in almost every scene she was in and it bugged me. I know what she is capable of acting wise and this wasn’t her best. Besides the acting, the cinematography was gorgeous and the score was epic and suspenseful in a way that made me feel like I was reading the book all over again. This film was really a home run for Lionsgate. I am reentering my 2012 Hunger Games fan girl era once more as we speak. "

"Not as good as the ‘originals’ but still pretty good. The plot is before the other movies so there’s definitely the correlation of the characters. Like Tigress being younger and before her everything else. It was kinda cheesy in the romance which was annoying to me but overall, good movie. I waited over two years for this film to be released, so my expectations were pretty high! 😂 I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as the originals but it’s still worth watching. #hungergames"

"Rather disjointed story. There is not quite enough in the games themselves which are more primitive but equally brutal. The origin story of President Snow seems a bit simplistic to me. A simple betrayal is all it takes to divert him to cruelty. "

"Really enjoyed the movie. The production style was just as good as previous Hunger Games movies. Portrays the book well. I hated the ending in both the book and the movie though, in true Suzanne Collins fashion. "

"I liked this more than I thought I would but found myself confused. I didn’t realize there was an actual book that this was based off of, which I imagine is better. I think this could have been more than one movie, which I’m surprised they didn’t go for since that would have resulted in higher profits. "

"Although this film was not as good as the original it was still pretty good. I feel like the storylines got a bit muddled but overall I liked getting to see the origins of the hunger games and how the world and the games have drastically evolved. If you like the hunger games movies this is definitely worth a watch."

"snow lands on top"

"Originally, I rated this a 3/5 but I went back and watched it again and can't stop thinking about the characters especially Snow (obviously). Really makes you think about how people will act with power or to gain it and if power is even worth it in the end. I think I liked this movie better then the "original" ones. 4/5- but Rachel Zeglers voice is still a 10/10. "

"First DNF in decades, as far as movies go. Between the horrible southern accent that comes and goes at a moments notice and the bad acting I couldn't push through. Even the great Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage couldn't save this one. "

"This movie was very good. I'm giving it 4 stars because it did have absolutely too much singing. I loved Snow's origin story. It actually made me like his future self less. He should have been better and he should have understood struggles more. I did not read the prequel book although I did read the others."