Review: 'Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' is the best 'Hunger Games' movie of them all

Imagine if “The Phantom Menace” was better than every episode of George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” trilogy.

Kind of bonkers to think about, right? But that’s pretty much the situation with “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters Friday), an enticing blend of dystopian action epic and musical drama that surpasses the previous films starring Jennifer Lawrence. Set 64 years before the movies based on Suzanne Collins’ popular book series, this prequel chapter features Rachel Zegler ("West Side Story") as a feisty reluctant warrior, whose sass and twang are as sharp as Katniss Everdeen’s bow. The overall tale, however, centers squarely on Tom Blyth’s young Coriolanus Snow, decades before he’s the despicable president of Panem.

"Ballad" begins that ascension from the bottom. The Snow family are no longer the power players they used to be in the Capitol a decade since the war ended between the authoritarian government and Panem’s once-rebellious districts. In fact, 18-year-old Coriolanus puts on airs alongside his wealthy classmates at The Academy to hide how broke he is. He hopes his good grades grant him a needed cash prize, but there’s a change in plan.

The 10th Hunger Games – where kids from each district fight to the death – is being televised for the first time, Corio and his peers are chosen to mentor these “tributes,” and whoever wins nabs the coveted scholarship. Because the Capitol wants a bigger audience, the Academy's dean (and Hunger Games creator) Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) orders that they be trained as “spectacles, not survivors.”

Corio is tasked with overseeing Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler) from the poverty-stricken, Southern-fried coal-mining locale District 12 – the same place that will spawn Katniss much later. Although labeled a “runt girl,” skinny Lucy showcases a big singing voice and a charming edge that appeals to the cameras as well as Corio. The two form a fast friendship: Unlike other mentors, Corio treats her like a human being and they figure out a give-and-take dynamic that Lucy Gray brings into the deadly Hunger Games arena while Corio pursues various avenues (some of them illegal) to keep her alive.

'Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes': 'Hunger Games' prequel gets first trailer starring Rachel Zegler

But the Games themselves are only one part of the narrative, which clocks in at a patience-testing 158 minutes. While the bloodsport is a more sprawling affair in the earlier films, the stripped-down “Ballad” battlefield leans dangerously intimate and brutally visceral while politicking goes on behind the scenes, with Corio working with and against frenemies for Lucy Gray’s benefit. (Jason Schwartzman also gets to shine as chatty weatherman/magician/emcee Lucky Flickerman, whose descendant is Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman in the previous films.)

The plot shifts to what happens outside the arena, as Corio and Lucy figure out if they can have a relationship as well as whether they can trust each other. It’s not as intriguing as the Hunger Games-centric stuff, but Zegler plays a different sort of heroine than Lawrence’s Katniss, plus gets to show off her pipes with Lucy Gray’s folky/country Appalachian band. In fact, she sings way more than you might expect in a dystopian action thriller, and Lucy Gray’s anti-Capitol anthem "The Hanging Tree” is one of several subtle connections to the earlier movies.

Director Francis Lawrence, back for his fourth franchise outing, has rounded up impressive leads amid a standout cast. Viola Davis is a sinister delight as Volumnia Gaul, the head gamemaker/mad scientist who does some wicked things with rainbow snakes and surprisingly takes Corio under her wing. How he journeys from decent guy to showing seeds of Donald Sutherland’s ruthless tyrant in the earlier “Games” films doesn’t completely gel, though Blyth and Davis’ chemistry does the most good in selling the inevitable heel turn.

A compelling watch that improves on what came before it, “Ballad” rocks a moodier “Harry Potter” vibe and isn't shy regarding its message about authoritarianism and the inherently corruptive aspects of the human spirit. It posits that the line between good and evil is a fine one, and similar to a man named Darth, Snow takes a deep and entertaining stroll toward the dark side.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Hunger Games' review: 'Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' gets it right