THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES:
HUNGER GAMES PREQUEL TELLS A FASCINATING THOUGH SOMEWHAT DISJOINTED ORIGIN STORY!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
LIONSGATE
Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The world of the Hunger Games goes back to the very beginning in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, the fifth installment of the Hunger Games film series based on the books of the same name by Suzanne Collins and a prequel telling the origin of the infamous President Snow. The film is once again directed by Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I Am Legend, Red Sparrow) who has directed every chapter in the series since 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
What Fantastic Beasts was for Harry Potter and The Hobbit for The Lord of the Rings, I guess it makes sense for the Hunger Games to go in the prequel direction seeing how critically and commercially successful the originals were from 2012-2015. I’ll admit I wasn’t super hyped for this movie when it was announced, but I also thought maybe a prequel that tells the origin story of Snow (Donald Sutherland’s character from the original films) and how/why he rose to power could be interesting to see.
Yeah, the movie pretty much gave me exactly what it advertised, a decent origin to Snow’s character that is interesting, but it doesn’t really have the spark that ignited the flame from its predecessors nor are the characters nearly as memorable as Katniss or Peeta despite strong performances by the cast.
The film is set 64 years before the events of the first film and follows a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth-Scott and Sid, Benediction, Billy the Kid) decades before he became the tyrannical president of Panem tasked with being a mentor for a tribute from District 12 who was chosen to participate in the 10th annual Hunger Games. That person is Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler-West Side Story (2021), Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Snow White (2025)) whose charm captivates the audience of Panem and Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates.
With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow and Lucy unite to turn the odds in their favor, battling his instincts for both good and evil, and determine if he’s going to be a songbird or a snake.
The film also stars Viola Davis (The Help, The Suicide Squad, The Woman King) as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, Peter Dinklage (Elf, Game of Thrones, Avengers: Infinity War) as Casca “Cas” Highbottom, Jason Schwartzman (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Asteroid City) as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, Josh Andrés Rivera (West Side Story (2021)) as Sejanus Plinth, Hunter Schafer (Euphoria, Belle, Cuckoo) as Tigris Snow, Fionnula Flanagan (The Others, Four Brothers, Song of the Sea) as Grandma’am, Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises, Pacific Rim 1 and 2, Game of Thrones) as Commander Hoff, Ashley Liao (Fuller House, The Kicks, Secret Society of Second-Born Royals) as Clemansia Dovecote, and Zoe Renee (The Quad, Jinn, Chang Can Dunk) as Lysistrata Vickers.
Overall, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes doesn’t quite have the emotional weight or as many memorable characters as its predecessors, but as far as prequels to films based on beloved young-adult sci-fi/fantasy novels go, this is the best I’ve seen so far. While a lot of story unfolds in this film (on top of a 1 hour 45-minute runtime) it knows what to focus on and doesn’t get lost in a million subplots or fill it to the brim with references to the earlier films and the film has a decent flow to it.
The focus is on Snow and Lucy which is exactly where it should be, and it delivers a competent enough origin story that is quite fascinating. I found it interesting to see a more human and sympathetic Snow and as the film goes on you start to understand why Snow eventually becomes the notorious ruler of Panem in the other movies.
The performances are solid, even though I don’t exactly buy Tom Blyth as a young Donald Sutherland, his performance as Snow does carry the film and sells both the charming and tragic side of the character. Rachel Zegler is also great as Lucy though at times her motives are a little questionable, but she balances it out with an engaging character who has enjoyable chemistry with Blyth and a lovely singing voice to boot.
Viola Davis is having a ball as Volumnia who is almost like a demented version of Elizabeth Banks from the other movies. Peter Dinklage is also a standout as the Dean of Snow’s academy even if the movie isn’t entirely focused on him and Jason Schwartzman gives a delightful performance as the television host of the Hunger Games, a role that’s reminiscent of Stanley Tucci from the original films, but the actors do a stellar job at breathing life and energy into them, so they don’t feel like carbon copies.
The action scenes are exciting, and I love how this version of the Hunger Games is much grittier and less glamorous than what it eventually turns into with children killing each other with pitchforks and older weaponry. However, this Hunger Games does feel rather underwhelming compared to the other films by comparison and doesn’t quite have the same impact or shock value as those.
If you’re a Hunger Games purist and want to see the world and lore expanded upon then The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes might be the movie to see. It may not be the epic spectacle that the Jennifer Lawrence films were, but I think it’s still a decently-crafted prequel with captivating performances leading the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment