By our entertainment editors
Nov 16, 2023 at 8:27 PM Update: 8 hours ago
Ten years after the last part, the prequel will be released on Thursday The Hunger Games-trilogy. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set more than sixty years earlier than the original series. Is the fourth film about the fictional country Panem worth it? NU.nl lists the reviews.
AD – three stars
“Also in the new one Hunger Gamesfilm, young people are forced to fight each other to the death. But the fifth part of the successful series has more on the agenda. Much more. The strikingly bleak The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes goes back in time and tells the story of a budding dictator. That’s fascinating and frustrating at the same time.”
“Whether the epic, composed of three chapters, is optimally enjoyable depends on the viewer’s stamina. Once the Hunger Games have been played after an hour or two, the climax has also been emotionally reached. Yet we still get a 45-minute epilogue. There will be a lot of groaning in the cinema hall. And yet: that third chapter is possibly the best part. Without giving much away, the film shows the courage to take a completely different course.”
Het Parool – gives no stars
“The prequel follows Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), who rules Panem with an iron fist in the original trilogy. The reason for Coriolanus Snow’s decline is subtle and complex. Coriolanus may be a poor orphan, but The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does not fall back on the cliché of a major childhood trauma to explain his later actions.”
“That complexity makes the film overcrowded. Also in terms of acting, by the way – with strong supporting roles from, among others, Viola Davis, Jason Schwartzman and Hunter Schafer (known from the hit series Euphoria). The balance is sometimes lost with so many storylines. Franchises are known for trying to stretch their stories as long as possible; This story is so split in half that it could have been better told in two films.”
De Volkskrant – four stars
“The grim love drama remains fascinating, especially in the fantastic last hour, in which the Hunger Games barely play a role and Snow slowly exchanges his humanity for hatred. Blyth is just ambivalent enough to keep that interesting, but the film mainly belongs to Rachel Zegler, who almost single-handedly gives new life to the dormant franchise with her energetic playing and singing. With such a vibrant young film star in the middle, even a prequel automatically becomes worthwhile.”
NRC – two stars
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a ‘prequel’ about the deterioration of the young Coriolanus Snow. George Lucas previously focused in three Star Warsprequels to the youth of villain Darth Vader, but the antics of this sullen teenager were moderately interesting. We knew the outcome. Yet they catch up The Hunger Games down the same path.”
“The core – teenagers fight to the death – remains entertaining, but the plot is a mess and we already know how Snow’s inner battle between ambition and love ends. His less than pleasant character is glossed over by monstrous co-stars: the deeply vindictive headmaster Highbottom (Peter Dinklage). ), the sadistic game master Gaul (Viola Davis) who squints between preserving bottles full of mutated meat and poisonous snakes. This general misanthropy puts a gray veil over the film and the romance. And is the couple related to Katniss? That could be her later rebellion against Snow Oedipal traits. Even more so Star Wars So.”
2023-11-16 19:27:19
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