 What's going on guys welcome back to the channel critical overlord here So this will be a spoiler-free review for the Hunger Games the ballad of songbirds and snakes This is directed by Francis Lawrence who is returning to the franchise. He directed the previous three I don't think he directed the original film that came out back in 2012 I think I don't think he directed that one, but he directed all the others and he's back to direct this one It is a screenplay by Michael Leslie and Michael aren't it is starring Tom Blythe, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schaefer Jason Schwartman and Viola Davis as well as many others So years before he would become the tyrannical president of Panem or Panem 18 year old Cory and Lainis Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage a once proud family That has fallen from grace in a post-war capital with the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching the young snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird The female tribute from impoverished district 12 But after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem's attention by defiantly Singing during the reaping ceremony snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy snow and Lucy Gray's race against time to survive We'll ultimately reveal who is a songbird and who is a snake Now the Hunger Games the battle of the songbirds and snakes is equally good as well as it is underwhelming at times on one hand The strong performances and gripping story make for a highly engaging film from start to finish finish on the other hand As someone who is in a die-hard But has seen the previous Hunger Games films The games aspect fell flat and was mostly forgettable and the pacing was hitter many times Also operating mostly as a villain origin story for Corrie and Lena snow It succeeds at carving out his path from good to evil going down that dark path and offers an intriguing character study along the way as well Snow's motivations are clear in his compelling journey or evolution if you will carries this film greatly sadly outside of Corrie O Himself everyone else around him is underdeveloped or just barely interesting with Lucy Gray being an exception despite also being Underdeveloped in her own regard the build-up to the titular Hunger Games the 10th annual to be more specific for the timeline There's very little to get me emotionally invested in anything that's about to unfold for these tributes If more time had been spent letting their characters marinate I could have gotten on board with it all the way. Hell even Lucy and snow's relationship isn't fully convincing before the games take place So his commitment to Lucy is kind of like I'm halfway in the door But I'm not fully on board or convinced why you care so much about this woman because you just met her. It's not a bad film Just got so much right with snow while also getting things wrong that bugged me is all the characters aren't even poorly written to be honest And again, most of them are interesting Lucy probably has one song too many despite Zegler being a phenomenal talent Her voice is incredible. There's this shift in the screenplay where I'm like what the heck What am I watching? Is this a different movie? But of course it was the same movie I don't know how much of the film stuck to the novel structure But if it's completely like the novel structure, it didn't translate well in this format What once it reached point that I'm talking about what you'll see once the movie drops because a lot of you might come Out saying the same thing that it felt like a different movie. I really do have to commend the performances There is so much conviction that our film worth enduring just to be in awe at how great everyone is in their roles Rachel Zegler might have her naysayers, but she's so talented as far as I'm concerned the singing on display Was impressive and she's so convincing in the role Viola Davis doesn't even need to be mentioned Really because when does she not devour a scene? But job well done as usual miss Davis. She devoured the scenery. She left no crumbs Tom Blythe, I would say he stole the show as Coriola Coriola in his snow Phenomenal production design you have a great score that adds to the stakes of the film and the direction was pretty good for the most part Regardless of the story shortcomings There's great amounts of tension and suspense that are still able to resonate that keep the story durable Even when I go back to the structure that how they built up to the games while again I didn't really care about what was going on once the games came because of the fact that it didn't really let too much of What happened prior marinate and let me get to really invest in the characters the games themselves were still very suspenseful tension-based and gripping despite again me not being fully on the Fully on the side of Coriola in a Coriolanus is snow's investment in Lucy great There are a lot of low-angle shots that grew tiresome to me But maybe I'll be the only one that gets tired of that Some of you will know what I'm talking about when you see the movie again because there are indeed a lot of low-angle shots The pacing was here to miss the third act really drags Lucy and snow's relationship didn't even keep me invested once it started To come to a close where overall I wouldn't say I was bored while watching the hunker games Ultimately by was to rate this on a scale of one to ten. I'm gonna give it a seven. I honestly would it's not a Terrible film it is a film that I did enjoy. I liked it. I thought it was a very good It again just has its problems like any movie seven out of ten is not anything to be ashamed of Let me know just think about this down in the comment section below if you haven't read of course Make sure you go ahead and subscribe turn on post notification. You never miss a video in the description I'll have links to all my social media accounts. I am on Facebook Twitter and Instagram You can message me there of course Let me know if there any movies news or reviews you like me to cover in the future and with all that in mind guys I will see you in the next video the next video