Writer of the dystopian award-winning trilogy “The Hunger Games” Suzanne Collins wrote and published her most recent novel, a prequel to the original “Hunger Games” trilogy, “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”. The book takes place 64 years before the original story. Published on May 19, 2020, the book sold over half a million copies. Francis Lawrence, director of “Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2,” took on the role of directing the movie adaptation “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Lionsgate films released the movie in theaters November 17.
“It’s such an incredible story and we are so thankful to Suzanne for adding onto something so iconic I think that a lot of filmmakers thought that the story was over with Katniss and the gang and getting to dove into these characters in an even deeper meaningful way it’s such an honor as an actor to get to do that and also just as a storyteller, in general, it’s just really beautiful,” actress Rachel Zegler said,
The movie takes place years before the original movie and, unlike the other movies, follows the life of future antagonist Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth competing for the 10th annual Hunger Games, young Coriolanus Snow faces the task of mentoring the District 12 tribute. Lucy Gray Baird, the lead singer in the “Musical Covey Nomads,” becomes the female tribute picked for the 10th Hunger Games. Due to Lucy Gray saving Snow’s life during an attack on the capital, Snow grows fond of her and cheats the game to keep her alive. After his higher-ups find out about him cheating on the game, they punish him by sending him to the districts to train as PeaceKeepers.
During Snow’s training time, his friend Sejanus Plinth, played by Josh Andres Rivera, joins him. During his time in District 12, he learns about a secret uprising that his friend takes part in. Later on in the story, he tells law enforcement about Sejanus to keep Lucy Gray safe; this later results in Sejanus getting hung by the town mayor and Snow running away with Lucy Gray. The story ends when Snow and Lucy Gray arrive at their cabin. Lucy Gray leaves saying she needs to “pick some katniss” and after a while, Snow begins looking for her. To his surprise, he finds her scarf and uncovers it. A snake crawls from under the scarf biting Snow and he screams in anger. Now, continuing his search for Lucy Gray with a gun in his hand, he sees a figure that looks like her and shoots at it. When he walks towards where the dead body should lie, nothing remains except for a bracelet. Snow dumps the guns that linked him to murder in the pond and returns to his original home. The cliffhanger ending leaves the audience with a question: Did Lucy Gray survive?
“My favorite part of the movie was probably the actual games because it was a new perspective as being a mentor was different from being a tribute, it was very eventful. I don’t think Snow succeeded in killing Lucy Gray because he seemed defeated when he returned and like they said at the end ‘mysteries have a way of eating at people’ which is why he still has beef with District 12,” junior Jasmine Robinson said.
The movie consisted of various easter eggs and the younger adaptations of characters seen in the original Hunger Games. In the reaping scene, Lucy Gray climbs on the stage and sings a song before bowing. The bow resembles the scene from the original movie when Katniss Everdeen shoots an arrow through the apple inside of a pig’s mouth out of frustration and then bows when the sponsors look at her. In “Hunger Games Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, ‘Dill’ —a young contestant in the Hunger Games from District 11, played by Luna Steeples— dies after consuming poisonous water. After her death, her partner ‘Reaper’, played by Dimitri Abold, finds Dill’s deceased body and tears off a flag from the arena covering her with it. Reaper’s eye contact with the camera during this scene resembles the scene when Amandla Stenberg’s character ‘Rue’ dies and Katniss Everdeen covers her deceased body in flowers while singing “The Hanging Tree”. “The Hanging Tree,” a popular song used as a revolutionary song in the original “Hunger Games” movie, also played a role in “The Hunger Games Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Lucy Gray sang the song while she sat alone next to a tree back in her district after surviving the gruesome games. The easter egg noticed in the prequel presents itself as Lucy Gray hangs out with Snow next to a pond and her friend comes by and tells her he “picked some katniss.” Given that Lucy Gray used the name of Katniss Everdeen, audiences immediately noticed the dramatic irony.
“Lucy was the foundation of Katniss, the name of the plant, the hummingbirds, and the spirit of District 12. I’m on Snow’s side. Is he still wrong and a villain now, yes, but everything that led him to that point justified why he’s like that. He was ready and did put his whole life down for this girl just to be stabbed in the back after he tried to be good,” Robinson said.
The movie gives the viewers background information on the past of Coriolanus Snow who later becomes a major dictator in the original films. During the film, viewers meet another character hidden in the past of Snow’s evil arc: Tigris. played by Eugenie Bondurant, Tigris reveals herself in the prequel as Snow’s nice cousin. Nonetheless, when Tigris appears in the new film, audiences cannot believe their own eyes. In the original film, the producer depicted her as an old woman covered in tiger-like tattoos with a fur coat. In the new film, Tigris looks youthful with no tattoos, full blond hair, and innocent features. Seeing Tigris before the events of the original “Hunger Games” movie shows the audience how much Snow’s villainous ark changed the world not only for kids competing in the Hunger Games but the ones who watched the gruesome kills and who experienced Snow’s cruelty first hand.
The exciting prequel to the hit award-winning trilogy “The Hunger Games” received a Tomatometer score of 65% and an audience score of 89%. Although critics view the film as unwieldy and drawn-out, supporters feel “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” does an impressive job of adapting the book. And, of course, fans feel the directors performed an excellent casting that introduced “The Hunger Games fans to a great leading lady. 
The Chant’s score: A
