“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” a prequel to the “Hunger Games” series, starring controversial actress Rachel Zegler, just hit theaters on November 17, and sadly, but unsurprisingly, the film flopped on opening night.
The film’s performance was so abysmal that even “The Marvels,” the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie to date, outperformed it.
“I didn’t hate this movie,” says Lauren Chen, “but I think it’s also safe to say that Rachel Zegler’s performance was one of the worst parts of it.”
Perhaps that’s why Rotten Tomatoes scored the film at 62%, which is “the lowest-rated film in the ‘Hunger Games’ franchise.”
Zegler plays Lucy Gray Baird, a singer in a traveling gypsy tribe and Coriolanus Snow’s love interest. According to Lauren, she’s “super annoying in this role,” as she plays a character we’ve all seen a thousand times – ”the weird Zoe Deschanel, I’m not like other girls” archetype.
However, Zegler wasn’t the only issue with the film.
For example, the story follows a young President Snow through his transformation from a “pretty good person” into a “power-hungry, murderous dictator.” However, Snow’s radical devolution, although interesting, “takes place over a year tops,” which Lauren finds problematic.
“Someone changing from a sympathetic character into an all-around bad guy, who’s literally trying to gun down his girlfriend in the woods, that’s an interesting story, but it’s not one you can do convincingly in two and a half hours,” she criticizes.
On top of that, the plot at times does “not really make sense.” The fact that the Hunger Games are put into the hands of high school students is just one example of this.
Further, Coriolanus Snow is played by Tom Blyth, whose performance “was one of the highlights” of the film, according to Lauren. The problem, however, is that Blyth is 28, whereas his character is supposed to be 17.
“This is a 28-year-old man here who looks like a grown-a** adult because he is a grown-a** adult,” says Lauren.
To hear more of Lauren’s review of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” watch the clip below.
Want more from Lauren Chen?
To enjoy more of Lauren’s pro-liberty, pro-logic, and pro-market commentary on social and political issues, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.