When I saw that there was a new Hunger Games flick in the works, I’ll admit, I wasn’t all that keen. Which actually surprised me a bit, as I absolutely adore the first movie with Jennifer Lawrence. So much so that I saw it three times in cinemas.
Catching Fire was also awesome, and Mockingjay probably would have been, if it was just one film instead of two. But it felt like Lawrence’s character Katniss’ story was done. And she was the best thing about it all. So, is there any more story to tell that’s worthwhile?
Turns out there is, and it’s great.
The Ballad
This all-new prequel: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, besides being an absolute mouthful of a title, tells the story of Coriolanus Snow’s early days. You may know him as President Snow, the tyrannical baddie of the original four Hunger Games instalments, played by Donald Sutherland.
Set 64 years before the events that saw Katniss in action, the 10th annual Hunger Games has brought in the new concept of having upper-class students from District 1 (of 12 in the land of Panem), mentoring tributes before they fight to death in an arena.
READ MORE: Review | Thanksgiving ‘hilarious and horrific’
Snow has been assigned to Lucy Gray, the female tribute from District 12 and must do all he can to guide her through the games.
Bad Romance
Now, he isn’t doing this out of the goodness of his heart. There is a scholarship on the line if the powers-to-be decide he is the best mentor of the lot, and even if he doesn’t believe that Lucy Gray can win the games, he must convince the people of Panem that she can. Or at the very least that they like her.
Eventually, the two form a bond and work really well together. But this is where my first gripe with the film stems. A romance blooms, but it doesn’t feel earned.
Snakes
Snow goes from preppy douchebag to sensitive soul so quickly that I felt like I got whiplash watching. His motivations change at the drop of the hat, and I didn’t really get a grip on his character.
Sure, he has to turn into the evil President that we all know and he is the hero of this tale, but they don’t quite get the throughline right. I really like Snow as a protagonist here, they did a really good job at making him a ‘good guy’. Maybe too well, as when he commits dirty deeds, I don’t know if I believe it.
Songbirds
As I’ve said, I was a big fan of J-Law’s performance the first time around, and I came into this movie with my arms crossed muttering ‘Katniss or bust.’ But when actress Rachel Zegler entered the scene as newcomer Lucy Gray I was immediately sold. Gray is chosen as tribute, she gets some lip from a girl she obviously doesn’t get along with and proceeds to shove a snake down her dress.
Zegler brings the attitude that J-Law oozes, albeit a Disney Channel version of it.
Then in front of her District, Lucy Gray breaks into song and this is where the Songbird of the title comes into play.
READ MORE: Catching up with the creators of Bluey: The Videogame
Rachel Zegler has some serious pipes on her, which isn’t all that surprising as she won a Golden Globe for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. While it can be extremely powerful at times when she uses her voice to inspire the citizens of Panem, other times it feels a bit lame.
The Game That Never Ends
Director Francis Lawrence is back in the chair, and he feels like the man to do it after directing the last three Hunger Games films. Initially, he was worried about adapting Suzanne Collins’ novel as just one film, possibly making it a two-parter like he did with Mockingjay. But he has said that he regrets splitting that story up, and while I tend to agree with him, in this case, it might have actually worked.
I enjoyed the movie for the most part, but I really felt its length. Ballad comes in at a whopping 157-minute running time. After the 2-hour mark, I was finding it hard to concentrate because my butt was sore from sitting down so long!
Effectively there are two parts to the story anyway. The first being the actual Hunger Games, then we venture into the districts for a bit and that’s what I found to be the most interesting.
READ MORE: Review | Five Nights at Freddy’s
To keep it to one movie with a solid, digestible duration, I would have cut down on the games (we have seen enough of them in the other movies), and focused more on Snow’s adventures in the districts.
Or, dare I say it: break it up into two movies.
Gray Snow
My attention span aside, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is an entertaining movie. There are enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes propped up by some stellar performances. I don’t feel like we got the full story of Snow’s rise to power though. Maybe I’ll have to read the book… Or wait for a sequel.
Quest Daily score The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes:
7/10
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is in cinemas now.
