Image from Lionsgate.
When people hear of The Hunger Games, their minds automatically think of the beloved characters of Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen. However, they are nowhere to be found in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Lionsgate’s newest blockbuster explores the 10th Hunger Games and the young life of Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), the main villain of the original trilogy, as he becomes the mentor of Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12, and must work to rise to power in the Capitol of Panem.
Since the release of the original trilogy of books in 2008, The Hunger Games has taken the world by storm. Over 100 million copies of the books, which have been translated into 54 languages, have been sold to people of all ages, and the release of the movies from 2012 to 2015 increased the popularity of the franchise even more, as book fans and movie enthusiasts went running to see these intriguing, adventurous movies, which garnered over $3 billion at the box office. With all of the publicity and excitement surrounding the renaissance of this esteemed franchise, people have high expectations. Specifically, juniors Sneha Kamboj, a fan of the novels and films, Mahika Vohra, an admirer of the movies, and Nia Kuchekar have thoughts on the release of this new film.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, TBOSAS deserves a 64%, which may come as a shock, as it is the lowest any movie of the franchise has received. Sneha Kamboj addresses this rating by stating how “the Rachel Zegler controversy may make the film, which is really good, have a worse rating than it deserves.” What is referred to as the “Rachel Zegler controversy” is the backlash Zegler faced after expressing her dislike for the original Snow White movie and its meaning. Mahika Vohra believes that society’s hatred toward her may “impact the number of people planning on watching TBOSAS, and their views on the movie, as people inherently form biased opinions.” For some students at Washington High School, Rachel Zegler was the main cause of their dislike of the movie, with her acting and singing being described as “horrendous,” and feeling as if she hadn’t been “fully immersed in her character of Lucy Gray.”
As for the main character, Nia Kuchekar, who hasn’t read the books or watched the other films, states, “I didn’t know how evil Snow is, so I felt no reason to hate him until closer to the end.” Many people share her opinion, and even after watching the shocking end, continue to admire his character because of his looks, allowing his physical aspects to cloud their judgment of his personality. However, people who read the book and are aware of his internal dialogue are disappointed that it wasn’t included throughout the movie to showcase his selfishness from the start, and display how horrible of a person he really is. Although everyone’s opinions differ, the only thing which all fans agree on at the end of the movie is that Snow lands on top.
Anjika Singh is a junior at Washington High School, who has lived in Fremont, California her entire life. This is her first year as a part of The Hatchet, and she is excited to cover a variety of topics from reviews to school news through her articles. In her free time, Anjika enjoys dancing, reading, hanging out with friends, and watching movies and shows. In the future, Anjika hopes to go to college, but is undecided about what her major should be.