“The Hunger Games: the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a faithful adaptation of a very long book that is sure to please fans of the franchise. Basically an origin story of President Snow in the original movies, this film is well-cast and well-acted. Since it deals with the rise to power of a person who ultimately becomes a villain, the picture is imbued throughout with dark overtones that may be a downer for those unfamiliar with the series.

The movie begins with a flashback to the young Coriolanus Snow being told by his grandmother that his father has been killed in the ongoing war with the Districts against the Capital, where he lives with his cousin Tigris.

Ten years pass. Snow (Tom Blyth) is now 18 and enrolled at the Academy, led by Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage). His family is down on its luck and Snow is desperate to win the Plinth Prize, which will fund his way into the University. The Prize is sponsored by the Plinth family, whose son, Sejanus (Josh Andres Rivera), is a friend of Snow.

But the conditions of getting the Prize are altered. The winner will be determined by how well their tribute does in the Games.

The Tenth Hunger Games are about to begin. They are set in an arena where the action unfolds very quickly. In past games, the tributes from the Districts ran to a pile of weapons and rapidly dispatched one another. The public is bored by this format.

Snow suggests to the chief Gamemaker, Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis), that changes be made to the format of the Games, such as letting the public make donations for items for the tributes. Dr. Gaul asks him to write up his recommendations, some of which are implemented.

Each tribute has a mentor from the Academy. Snow’s assignment is Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12. She makes a noteworthy debut upon being selected by attacking her rival, the mayor’s daughter, with a snake, and by singing a powerful anthem that captivates the Capital.

In an attempt to bond with Lucy Gray, Snow meets her at the train station when all the tributes arrive. He brings her food and she engages the crowd outside the zoo cage where she is being held.

When the tributes and their mentors tour the arena where the Games will be held, terrorists attack. Snow is pinned under debris. Rather than attempt to escape, Lucy Gray helps Snow.

Snow plots a survival strategy for Lucy Gray. She is to run for the tunnels when the tributes run to get weapons in the center of the arena.

Sejanus, disgusted by the Games, sneaks into the arena at night to perform last rites on his now-deceased mentee. Snow has to rescue him and has to kill a tribute in the process.

Will Lucy Gray survive the Hunger Games? Will she and Snow hook up? Will some of Snow’s methods to help Lucy Gray lead to unforeseen consequences?

Full disclosure: I am a big fan of both the book series and the movie series. I think that the book version of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the best in the written series.

That being said, it was a considerable task to cut a 517-page book down to a two hour and 37-minute film. If each minute of screen time equals a book page, the movie is only 30% of the entire text.

So there is a loss of richness that the book provides in filling out the characters more deeply. This is not a problem for those fans who have read the book, since they know the work and where the picture is headed.

A pressing question for new viewers is how they will view a story with a protagonist who is destined to become unlikable. It is no spoiler to reveal this, since we know that in the original Hunger Games series, President Snow was a complete villain.

In the original film quartet, Katniss Everdeen, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence, was a character who generated much sympathy and empathy. Her struggles against an evil empire, led by President Coriolanus Snow, made for compelling viewing. She was a bright spot in a dark story.

In this picture, the main character, Snow, generates less sympathy and empathy than Katniss did. So there is now a dark story with a negative lead.

Even the appearance of a Katniss-like character like Lucy Gray is not enough to overcome this reality. She is ultimately a supporting character and not the lead like Katniss.

Will viewers unfamiliar with the series be repelled by the way that Snow turns out? Is the story too dark for the casual fan?

Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray gives an incredible performance, the highlight of the acting in this movie. Her screen presence is simply magnetic. The songs that she sings showcase her powerful voice. She can be tough and sweet, often at the same time.

Tom Blyth as Snow is well-cast. He does a good job portraying the conflicting demands on him by his family, his teachers, and Lucy Gray. This is a story of how power is acquired and he deftly slips into doing what he needs to do to succeed at all costs.

Viola Davis as Volumnia Gaul also merits mention. Of course she is one of the great actresses of our time. But here she gets to run with a character who may or may not be all there in terms of sanity and morality. She combines being crazy like a fox with a true underlying sense of menace.

The sets and visual effects are top-notch. This is a well-funded and well-made production. Much of the filming was done in Berlin since its buildings could be used as backdrops for a post-war metropolis. The costumes warrant significant praise.

I found it a pleasure to see how well the creative team adapted this wonderful book. While dark in theme, that is the nature of a story that tells how a normal teen ends up becoming a ruthless leader.

Four and a half out of five stars

The story of THE HUNGER GAMES — 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem.

THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post- war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.

Starring: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay by: Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt
Based on the Novel by: Suzanne Collins