‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is Surprisingly Good

So, I’m under embargo as far as “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is concerned. Reviews won’t be published until Thursday. The film comes out on November 17th.

I really don’t want to tweet out my reaction. I hate doing that. It happens that I’ll find the urge at film festivals to sometimes type out some brief thoughts on social media, but I mostly cringe at doing anything of the sort.

Instead of posting my own thoughts, what I’ll do is lead you to a fairly precise reaction of the film via Twitter. It perfectly encapsulates my feelings on the film, which clocks in at 158 minutes …

Here’s Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, who might as well be writing my exact thoughts and, hint-hint, ‘Songbirds and Snakes’ isn’t as bad as you would have expected it to be —

I am *very* happy to report that the new movie is quite good! In fact, the first 2/3 is excellent. While I understand why they didn’t split the book into two movies, it is quite noticeable that the first 2/3 is stellar and the last 1/3 is so-so — underserved and rushed, but works just well enough.

Casting is ON POINT. Tom Blyth excels playing a protagonist with a deteriorating moral compass, and Rachel Zegler nails balancing Lucy Gray’s bubbly personality and her innate theatricality with the severity of her situation and the fear that comes with it.

Viola Davis is almost too good as Dr. Gaul and I LOVED Hunter Schafer as a Tigris. A perfect example of someone who makes the absolute most of every ounce of screen time she gets. Overall, not a total home run, but still a rock solid new addition to the film franchise!

I will say that I was fairly impressed by Francis Lawrence’s direction. Some of his shot selections here were damn-near impressive — a lot of experimentation with upper and lower angled shots. Jo Willems’ photography was also top-notch.

Suffice to say, as a refresher, I decided to check out Lawrence’s filmography and, hey, it turns out he’s actually made some good studio films over the course of his 18-year directing career. Nothing overtly exceptional, but he’s been nothing short of consistent: “Constantine,” “I Am Legend,” “Catching Fire,” and “Red Sparrow” stick out. There are far worse filmmakers out there …

I didn’t love the two ‘Mockingjay’ movies. However, the first two ‘Hunger Games’ instalments were good and “Catching Fire” was the best of the lot. Expect some good reviews for this latest one.

Here’s the official synopsis for ‘Songbirds and Snakes’:

Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12.

Tom Blyth plays Coriolanus Snow (originally played by Donald Sutherland) while Rachel Zegler plays Lucy Gray Baird. The rest of the cast includes Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, and Jason Schwartzman.