Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Review: Hunger Games Prequel 2023

I’m diving into a hunger games 2023 review today. Short version: it’s the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, set in Panem before Katniss. Think young Coriolanus Snow. Think Lucy Gray Baird. Think Capitol vs districts, mentors, tributes, and a messy rise to power. In my experience, that mix either sings or it eats itself alive. Here, it mostly sings. With sharp teeth.

Why I cared enough to show up (again)

I’ve been watching, reading, and nitpicking this franchise for over a decade. I was there for the midnight shows, the stale popcorn, the “Team Peeta vs Team Gale” sighs. I get the world. I get the stakes. And I get the weird joy of seeing a villain’s origin story—especially when it’s Coriolanus Snow, the guy with ice in his veins and roses in his pockets.

If you want the basic who-what-when, the film is officially called The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Prequel to the main saga. Young Snow. Lucy Gray. Games in a more raw, early form. That’s your primer.

The vibe: old blood, new tricks

Right away, I felt the rougher edges. These aren’t the slick televised Games we saw later. The Arena is basically a warehouse with bad lighting and worse safety rules. I actually liked that. It makes the cruelty naked. It also makes the Capitol look less untouchable.

I’ve always found that the best parts of this series are the human ones. The songs. The quiet moments before a choice ruins a life. Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler) carries that. She sings, but not like a musical number. More like a live wire in a storm. Tom Blyth as Snow? Controlled. Hungry. He sells the “good boy, bad world” thing—and then flips it when the mask cracks.

Critics were split on the tone, which is fair. The early Games are grim. The romance angle doesn’t always fit like it should. But if you want a strong counterpoint, The Guardian had takes on the rough charm and messy heart of it all. I nodded along with parts of this Guardian review, especially on performance texture.

Cast notes I scribbled in the dark

Rachel Zegler brings a kind of Appalachian show-woman spirit to Lucy Gray. It could’ve gone cheesy. It didn’t. Tom Blyth plays Snow like a sincerity sponge: he soaks it up when it helps, wrings it out when it hurts. Viola Davis? Chaotic genius as Dr. Gaul. A little mad scientist, a little nightmare teacher. Peter Dinklage, meanwhile, walks in, whispers a line, and the room falls over. He feels like he’s playing chess three moves ahead of the plot.

CNN framed the push-pull of character and spectacle in a way I found pretty aligned with my notes—especially on how the film balances the cruel game design with political theater. If you’re curious, here’s the CNN review.

Direction, world, and why the Capitol looks… tired

Francis Lawrence directs again. You can feel the continuity. But this world looks worn down. Like the Capitol is still building its brand of terror. I like that choice. It makes the slick propaganda of the later era feel earned. The BBC Culture piece touches on the world-build polish vs. grit, which I think is the key tension of the film. Here’s that BBC Culture review.

Music and mood: James Newton Howard still understands this world

When Lucy Gray sings, the camera calms down. When Snow plots, the score gets colder. James Newton Howard knows when to step forward and when to vanish. I left humming one of the refrains. It stung in a good way. In my experience, few franchises let the score hold this much weight without shouting about it.

Quick table: Who did what (and how it landed for me)

What worked for me

The early Games feel scary in a small way. No glitter. No pomp. Just kids and fear. It hits harder. The moral slide of Snow is also handled with care. Not a switch. A slope. One choice at a time. I respect that.

The plot also takes time for the music. That matters. In the book, song is power. Here, it still is. It disarms. It wins hearts. It keeps Lucy alive more than once. For a YA dystopia, that’s a brave move: less punch, more presence.

Some reviews called the ending rushed. I get it. But the seeds are there from the start: Snow needs order. He hates chaos. Love is chaos. You see it coming. You just hope you’re wrong. That tension kept me hooked.

The New York Times zeroed in on ambition and romance not quite fitting like a glove, which is fair, though I think the point is that love and power can’t share the same drawer in Snow’s house. You can read the NYT review for that angle.

What didn’t quite land

The third act moves fast. Like, “did someone hit 1.25x speed?” fast. I wanted two more scenes to let the choices breathe. Also, a couple of side characters are more ideas than people. Not deal-breakers. Just missed chances.

Some visuals inside the Arena feel like a TV warehouse set. I get the early-games grunt look. I still wanted a touch more texture. A smell of rust. A hint of old fire. You can do cheap and rich at the same time. It’s hard, but doable.

How it compares to the book

Book lovers, you’ll be fine. The beats are there. A few cuts, a few compressions. Normal stuff. Suzanne Collins wrote a dense prequel, and films can’t carry every page on screen. In my experience, though, the spirit made it through. Lucy’s voice. Snow’s slow rot. The Capitol’s hangover. If you want a cooler outside view of those trade-offs, I’d nudge you to the Guardian take again, and the NYT one above.

Is this prequel “needed”?

“Needed” is a loaded word. Do we need any prequels? No. Do I like this one? Yes. It adds texture to Snow. It gives the Games a rough birth story. And it lets the series pivot from “rebel vs empire” to “how power gets made in the first place.” That’s valuable.

Themes that stuck to my brain

• Power loves a good costume. Even when it’s broke.
• Mercy is expensive. People mortgage it and regret it later.
• Spectacle is a weapon. Cheaper than bullets. More addictive.
• Love can be a truth serum. Snow hates truth that he can’t script.

Box office, expectations, and the 2023 swirl

2023 was a wild movie year. Superheroes wobbling. Horror thriving. IP everywhere. This prequel landed like a steady arrow. Not a meteor. Not a dud. I don’t judge films by opening weekend alone, but the chatter told me this had legs with fans who wanted lore, not just noise.

BBC and CNN both talked about franchise fatigue vs. fresh fuel. I’m with the “fresh fuel” camp. Not a full tank, but enough miles to matter. You can always check the deeper culture takes in the BBC piece; it’s a good counterbalance to hype.

My messy, honest rating system (table time)

Tiny craft notes (because I’m a nerd)

The color palette shifts as Snow changes. Early scenes are warmer, almost human. Later ones cool down. It’s not subtle, but it works. The camera also sits a beat too long on certain faces, which I liked. It makes the lies feel sticky.

Editing is mostly clean. A few early cuts in the Arena feel jumpy, like we’re missing connective tissue. But the musical interludes smooth the flow. It’s strange how a song can fix an edit. I’ve seen that trick in other films. Still works.

If you’re new to the series

You can start here. It’s a prequel. You’ll miss some future echoes, but nothing fatal. In fact, there’s a nice thrill in meeting young Snow first and then watching him as the older villain later. It’s like reading a diary before you meet the person at the party.

I’ve written a lot of reviews over the years, not just movies. If you like to hop between mediums, I keep a running list of my favorite and weirdest game reviews that scratch the same itch: systems, power, choices.

On the “review length” debate

Some folks love a quick hit. Others want a long walk. I’ve argued both sides, often with myself. If you’re into the slow-cook take—why detail matters, how context unlocks meaning—then this piece on long game reviews gets into the weeds in a good way.

How media ecosystems shape stories

I watch how studios time drops and how headlines steer feelings. Same with games. If you follow the swings and weird swings-that-pretend-they-aren’t, the gaming news cycle is a helpful mirror. Different medium. Same hype machine. It all rhymes.

Short, lazy, and sometimes perfect

There’s also a place for short takes. I joke about “lazy” reviews, but sometimes you just want the gist, not a thesis. I even wrote about embracing that style here: lazy game reviews. Weirdly, this prequel benefits from the opposite: it needs a little time to bloom.

Finding the right hubs

If you’re hunting for places that surface real bangers without drowning you in fluff, I did a roundup of top games feature sites I actually trust. Different field, same rule: curation beats chaos.

Random bits I can’t unsee

• A single look from Dinklage that could end a war.
• Viola Davis’s lab fashion. Haute horror-chic.
• Lucy’s songs as weapons. No blood, still damage.
• Snow’s smile, barely there, like a blade in grass.

The moral math of Coriolanus Snow

Here’s the thing. People don’t turn evil overnight. They rationalize. They choose comfort over courage. Then they call it “order.” Snow does that. Again and again. Watching him find language to excuse himself is the real horror. The Games are just the stage.

Does the film say anything new?

New is relative. It shows how systems feed on fear and lipstick. It shows how love without trust is fragile. And it shows how talent (Lucy’s) scares men who crave control (Snow). Not a headline. A steady truth.

Comparing critic vibes

I skimmed a bunch of takes. Some felt the prequel spark. Some wanted more fireworks. The BBC piece treats it like a cultural litmus test. The Guardian goes tactile and acting-first. CNN keeps it broad and digestible. The NYT nudges you to think about ambition vs. romance craft. Good spread for triangulation.

If you’re building your own opinion map, the Wikipedia entry is clean for facts, and the BBC review or NYT review give you two ends of the tone rope to pull on.

So, would I recommend it?

Yes. Not as a noisy blockbuster. As a character study wrapped in a bruised world. See it for Zegler’s performance. Stay for Blyth’s unraveling. And let the music do its slow work in your chest.

This is where I add that I’m not immune to nostalgia. I liked being back in Panem. I liked seeing the nuts and bolts before the polish. And I liked leaving the theater with questions, not answers. That’s rare now.

The two-sentence gist (if you skimmed)

Solid prequel with a soulful lead and a quietly scary villain arc. Wobbly in parts, but worth your time.

Where my head landed by the end

I realized I was thinking less about the Game and more about the audience. Not us. Them. The Capitol. The students. The planners. They’re the real target of the show. That’s the point. That’s the rot.

And look, if you came here specifically hunting a hunger games 2023 review from a person who cares too much, hi, you found me. I’m the problem, it’s me. But I also think caring is the right way to watch stories about power. It keeps you awake.

Loose pros and cons (clean and quick)

• Pros: Performances, score, raw world-build, moral slope of Snow.
• Cons: Pacing at the end, a few sets feel thin, some side roles underfed.

Another small table, because yes

A word on formats and crossovers

People ask me why I mix film talk with game talk. Easy. Both mediums love systems that trap people and call it “fun.” When I write about movies like this, I’m also thinking about design, incentives, and how rules shape us. That’s why my game reviews folder keeps getting thicker every year.

FAQs (the stuff friends text me)

• Is it okay to watch this if I never saw the original movies? Yes. It’s a prequel. You’ll be fine.
• Is the romance cringey or cute? Neither. It’s tense. It’s a tool. That’s the point.
• Does it feel too long? A little in the end, but not painful. More “I wish we lingered,” not “please stop.”
• Is the music actually good or just “movie good”? Actually good. You’ll hum bits later.
• Will there be more prequels? No clue. If this one’s legs hold, studios love a return trip.

Anyway, that’s me for today. I’ll probably rewatch it once, then go re-read a few chapters to see what I missed. And maybe make tea. Or something stronger. Depends on the mood.

Darius Lukas

I’m Darius Lukas. On my blog, I break down what makes games tick with honest reviews, deep analyses, and guides to help you conquer your next virtual challenge.