The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes went to theaters on November 17, 2023, being the latest addition to the movie series, and a prequel to the original four. All the movies are based on The Hunger Games book series, written by Suzanne Collins. The main two characters were President Snow, played by Tom Blyth, and Lucy Gray Bird, played by Rachel Zegler, as well as other notable actors: Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis. The original trilogy was written between 2008 and 2010, the prequel not being released until 2020. The first movie was released just two years after the third book, making the quick release of this movie follow right in its series pattern. 

This prequel shows the life of Coriolanus (President) Snow before his rise when he was just a student in the capitol. Snow was poor for someone so high in status, and was next in line for the Plinth Prize – a huge cash prize given to one of the top students in the capitol. Right when the winner was going to be announced, there was a new rule placed to get the prize; being the best mentor to a tribute in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are annual games where two kids, a girl and a boy, from each of the twelve districts of Panem are selected to fight to the death in the arena, which gets more complex each year. Their mentors are students from the capitol who are selected to guide them through the games by sending gifts, such as water or weapons, with money from donors within the capitol. Snow cheats his way through with his tribute, Lucy Gray, to ensure he gets the Plinth Prize, all while he’s slowly falling in love with her. The power slowly starts to get with his head, showing viewers just what caused him to be who he is in the first three films. 

I would give this movie an 8.7/10. It shows how and why Snow became who he is, but there isn’t a clear cause for his behavior, which is somewhat disappointing, as well as Snow and Lucy not getting a good ending as well. It almost seemed as though he was always sort of twisted, but that twisted part of him only fully came out once he got these opportunities for power. The twists and turns throughout the movie kept me hooked through the whole movie. The film was two hours and 38 minutes long, but there didn’t seem to be any filler scenes. Every scene was crucial to the plot, and it didn’t feel dragged out at all.