More than a decade after Jennifer Lawrence brought life to Katniss Everdeen and the world of Panem in The Hunger Games, Rachel Zegler is about to make her debut in the universe as Lucy Gray Baird when The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters on November 17th. Critics have seen the prequel — which was adapted from the book of the same name — and while most commend the performances of its leads, many are quick to point out the flaws of its story.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes serves as an origin story for Coriolanus Snow, Panem’s tyrannical president. However, in the prequel he is still 18-year-old Coryo, played by Tom Blyth, who is assigned to mentor District 12 tribute Lucy Gray in the 10th Hunger Games. Early reactions had people calling the prequel the best in the series, so let’s see what critics are saying now that they can expand on those opinions. In CinemaBlend’s review of The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes, Sarah El-Mahmoud says there’s some excellent world-building despite some textbook prequel traps. She rates it 3.5 stars out of 5, writing:
