Review by aipsun

With a longer duration than the previous trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes should be our guide to exploring the past of Panem, the history of the Hunger Games and of course the dark story behind the main antagonist, President Snow. However, what the prequel presents feels shallow, rushed, and unsatisfying. This film is still interesting in terms of visuals, action scenes, characters (especially Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird) and the brutalist architectural setting of The Capitol. The Ballad may not be as good as the Hunger Games trilogy but it quite stands out among the franchise and of course Rachel Zegler can sing.