It has the essence of a hunger games film without the actual feel. All the emotional punches felt rushed due to the amount of material that had to be crammed into a 2 hour and 37 minute runtime. As someone who has loved this series for over a decade it did not live up to the standard set by the originals but the cast all gave incredible performances especially viola Davis as Dr. Gaul and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray. While it's a movie that many can enjoy at least once I don't see it having the overall rewatchability as the original series.

it answers a question why Snow become so evil. Now, I want to know about his facial scar, how his breath became rotten and more. Snow was cast perfectly. It was a nice detail to hear the Hanging Tree song. The breakup was too abrupt. I hope that there is a flashback in the next one. It is great to see Snow's grandmother and cousin and their new situation afterwards, but it would have been nice to see his homecoming and if his cousin (his moral compass) was able to see his moral sacrifices at a glance.The costuming was incredible and the look of the film and colors were perfect.

The movie/actors did a great job keeping your interest on the main character, until the end where they ultimately become the Snow we are all familiar with. There were a few bits of technology that seemed out of place for that time period, but generally it was stylized really well. A fun watch.

I liked the story but it took a bit to get going. Parts of the movie did drag for me. I do not see a clear lead into the next movie.