It’s been eight years since we’ve last seen the country of Panem on the big screen. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 marked the end of the story of Katniss Everdeen and the vile President Coriolanus Snow. In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, we see the story of young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) and where he came from before he was crowned as President of Panem. He is instructed to mentor a tribute from District 12 (the same district as the original saga’s Katniss) named Lucy Grey Baird (Rachel Zegler) and see his relationship develop with her as he tries to keep her alive during the Hunger Games.
I am a huge fan of the previous Hunger Games films. I read the books and saw the movies, which made me super excited when they announced a prequel to the series. I didn’t really know what I was going to expect walking into this movie other than a set up for the past movies, but boy was I surprised.
The film is split up into 3 acts or “parts”. Was this the right idea? See for yourself. Initially, I was confused at first seeing the film broken up this way. It set the expectation that it would be broken up into multiple films, when it isn’t. That is exactly what director Francis Lawrence did. He took a clear 2-part film event and crammed it into a 2h 38m solo film. The major con for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is that it should have been part one of two.
The first two acts, where Snow was mentoring Lucy Grey before and during the Hunger Games, were great. I was intrigued the entire time and Rachel Zegler stole the show every time she was on screen. Yet, the fact that the film remained one movie instead of 2 meant that there wasn’t enough time to build up that lead up to the games themselves.
The buildup worked but I felt like they could definitely have expanded more to develop more characters. The same goes to the final act. They rushed the part where arguably was the most critical to the storytelling and the development of Snow’s character in the original Hunger Games films. I also didn’t read the book, so I am not exactly sure how accurate they were to the book.
Despite its faults, there were several things I enjoyed in the film, however. First, I think the casting and acting was great. Rachel Zegler was phenomenal. Her acting plus her singing voice was eye catching and head turning every time she was on screen. This movie was a debut for many actors. Personally, I think they all did great for their first movie. Maybe we will see more of them in the future? I would certainly like it.
Final Thoughts:
I was very excited to see the country of Panem again. Before the time of the Mockingjay. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes makes me want to see more of the extended Hunger Games universe. Give me Haymitch’s games, give me what happens 20 years in the future. Give me more before the war. I do stand by my statement of how they could expand the final act. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was well told. I just wish there was more. If you’re a fan of the Hunger Games, then I would highly recommend this movie.
