The Hunger Games franchise will always hold a special place in my heart. From the ages of 11 to 13 it was seriously all that I cared about, talked about, thought about–you get the point. I read the books over and over, watched the movies over and over, and covered my bedroom walls with photos of the characters and cast. I, of course, went as Katniss for Halloween one year, so it is definitely safe to say that based on all of that information, I was pretty obsessed.
When Suzanne Collins announced that she would be releasing a prequel–The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes– that would also be turned into a movie, I was over the moon. I was wanting it to be a prequel about Finnick and his Games, but thought that one about President Coriolanus Snow’s upbringing would also be really interesting. Now I cannot continue writing this without admitting that I actually have not gotten around to reading the book. I am typically a “read it before you watch it” kind of person, but I never found the time and honestly wanted to go into the movie blind without knowing what happened, and I am so glad that I did.
I thought the movie was really great. Some critics were calling it the best movie out of the franchise, but nothing could ever and will ever top Catching Fire. However, the film was still good. I thought that Tom Blyth did a fantastic job at portraying the younger version of President Snow. So much so that you actually feel bad for him and root for his character. I thought Rachel Zegler also did a good job as her character, Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12. Viola Davis was incredible and Jason Schwartzman steals the show as Lucky Flickerman–Caesar Flickerman’s father.
The film is riddled with references to the original movies. I won’t spoil anything here but I definitely let out my fair share of gasps that I shared with one of my friends who is also a former Hunger Games obsessee. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie so much so that I am encouraged to read the book. It felt like a Hunger Games movie and it was really interesting to see how things came to be in the trilogy and how everything wasn’t always so prim and proper. If you have a chance to go see it in theaters, I highly recommend it, especially if you were a fan of the original movies. It may not have been the same without Katniss, but she makes her way in there somehow. I guess you’ll just have to watch to see what I mean.