People waited anxiously on Nov. 17, 2023. They had their tickets and snacks. They sat in their seats in the movie theater. Excitement buzzed around as people got comfortable. After three years of waiting, anticipation and expectation, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie was finally released.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie is based on the novel with the same name released in May of 2020 written by Suzanne Collins. The book and the movie are a prequel to the original book trilogy and movie series, “The Hunger Games.” The movie takes place 64 years before the events of “The Hunger Games” and follows a young Coriolanus Snow who played the villain in the original trilogy. Snow mentors Lucy Gray Baird, who is the female tribute of District 12 for the 10th annual Hunger Games. 

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie is a magnificent journey with its darker tone, engaging casting and writing that didn’t fail to capture the audience’s attention and hearts. This movie is a cinematic masterpiece.

There are many components that make the movie stand out including the tone. Unlike many dystopian novels which are focused on a hero attempting to save everyone, this movie is focused on the backstory of a corrupt villain. From that, there is a darker tone to the movie, which shows the cruel country that is Panem during this time. 

The movie does not withhold gruesome scenes and aspects that many dystopian movies do. Even the opening scene implies a horrifying truth of the civil war the country had suffered prior to the creation of the Hunger Games. Additionally, when it comes to the 10th annual Hunger Games, the movie does not refrain from the brutality of how the tributes were treated. The tributes stayed in a zoo for days before they entered the arena. People came to watch as they would animals in the zoo because people from the districts were not seen as anything different. There are many moments when brutality and violence is used in the movie to show how different Panem was compared to how it looked 64 years later, during the time of the original trilogy. 

With the tone, there are complex characters that have large impacts on it.  To play and embody characters that are complicated and change so much throughout the movie is difficult. It takes skill and dedication to demonstrate such change and complexity. It takes an outstanding cast to make accurate representation and impact the audience. Casting can make or break a movie but this movie would not have been what it was without the incredible actors who were chosen. 

Tom Blyth and Viola Davis played Snow and Dr. Volumnia Gaul respectively, two of the most difficult main characters to portray. Blyth and Davis did an amazing job at representing the characters and how they impacted each other and the storyline. Good representation is needed for the story line to have the effect on the audience that is needed. Blyth visually shows how Snow changes throughout the movie in many ways, including his expressions. Davis shows Dr. Gaul’s insanity by the ways she speaks, slowing her speech and using a malicious tone. Not only are the complicated characters casted well but so are the rest of the characters. Rachel Zegler who plays the female lead, Lucy Gray Baird, does a wonderful job playing the free-spirited singer and showing both Baird’s simplicity of her life, but also the complexity of her relationship with Snow. 

Overall, one of the most important aspects of the movie is the comparison to the book. Many book-to-movie adaptations have performed poorly over the years because of having too many elements that are different or stray from the book. Especially with the build up of years and anticipation that revolved around it, there were certain expectations that people had. 

Furthermore, this book represented the movie very well. It is not possible to put everything into a movie from a book, especially a 500-page book, like “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Although, it got the closest you can get when it comes to being accurate to the book. All of the important plot points were done extremely well and were faithful. The characters were written beautifully and were just as they were in the books. The cinematography and set was extremely impressive and magical to see it come to life. There are parts that are different, for example the pacing. The movie is fast and does leave out a few aspects of the book but that fact pales when it comes to what we received from this show-stopper. It is an authentic reflection of the book. 

The movie is a nostalgia blast for kids of the 2010’s who grew up with the original movies. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is an amazing prequel that does more than just set up Snow’s background, it also is a remarkable story on its own. Recapturing the mastery of the original trilogy and bringing it into a new light. Everyone should have the chance to see this sensational triumph.