Songbirds and Snakes Collide in the 10th Annual Hunger Games
The Hunger Games The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Review
Table of Contents
While the original Hunger Games movies told the tale of an unlikely hero, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the Villains side of the story. Much like the Star Wars prequels with Anakin Skywalker, we see the simultaneous moral decent and rise to power of future Panem President Cornelius Snow.
As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so Director Francis Lawrence takes us on a journey to convince us Cornilious was once a good man. That despite his ambitions and his fall from moral grace, his ascension was out of his control. Cornelius Snow was merely a victim of his circumstances. Does he succeed? YES, mostly
The Ballad of Songbirds is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Suzzanne Collins, the author of the Hunger Games series. Much like the original films, this is a dystopia action-adventure story about young people chosen to represent their districts in a fight to the death. This has the added caveat of also being about conflicted young lovers
Find out why, in the words of Cornilious: ‘Snow always lands on top’
Story/Plot
The film is set almost 70yrs before the events and story of Katniss Evergreen, portrayed fantastically by Jennifer Lawrence. While the presumption may have been that the film will focus on the new female protagonist Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), as like Katniss, she is another tribute from district 12. But this is actually the story of Cornilious Snow (Tom Blyth). It follows him from child to a young adulthood. He’s on the cusp of achieving his dream of winning the Plinth prize which would give him a full sponsorship and a prized position in the capital.
This is particularly pertinent as its revealed Cornilious, and his family are living in poverty following his father’s death. To stand a chance of achieving this, he and the other tributes must for the first time, serve as mentors to the tributes at the 10th Hunger Games. The other obstacles Snow has to overcome are Chief games maker Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) and the original creator of the Hunger games Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage).
Being a fan of the original series, I was fairly skeptical going in- wasn’t this just Hollywood milking another franchise? But I must say I found the story thoroughly engaging. Even though it did feel like some crucial elements of Cornilious’ back story were rushed and explained away by other characters. These elements would have made the characters motivations stronger. But regardless, there was enough information for people to get the general idea. The story provides a solid background for existing fans of the series. But I’m not certain those who haven’t watched it or weren’t fans of the original films, will have the same level of investment in proceedings.
Characters
This was an area the film excelled. There can be a tendency amongst film makers when crafting sequels and prequels to try and recreate the same magic, i.e. mimicking the characters from the 1st hunger games series. But what we are given here are a host of new and Intiguing characters. Both Cornilious and Lucy are layered, with varied motivations. Lucy Gray Baird isn’t ‘Katniss Evergreen remixed’. Infact these two female leads couldn’t be more different. Lucy is an artist, a charming entertainer with a quick wit, sharp tongue, and a kind heart.
But she is not a fighter or survivalist like Katniss, making her survival in the games a hugely different prospect. Watching Cornilious Snow try to fit in with his rich classmates, provide for his family, live up to his father’s legacy and fall in love with a girl he wasn’t supposed to, meant we got to see a character with multiple motivations which often pulled him in the different directions.
What are the MOST WANTED Movies of November 2023? Find out here
Bring The Action: The Hunger Games
The Games themselves are the center piece of any Hunger Games movie and in this film that is no different. Unfortunately, it’s one of the areas I thought was weakest in the film. It was interesting watching how the games developed from a more barbaric arena style to the tech savvy spectacle we ended up with in the future films, but this lacked a certain spark, despite host Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman) providing some comic relief with great one liners. The arena had a few bright moments but overall, it felt quite static and not as imaginative as I would have hoped
Music/Songs/Visuals
One of the standout elements of the original Hunger Games was its visuals. The outfits, characters and world building were strong and memorable. Songbirds and Snakes has some interesting areas but doesn’t quite match the innovation of the original series. It was always going to be difficult creating a world that looks less advanced and yet more appealing than what came before. What is here is competent but not really mind blowing.
The soundtrack on the other hand is excellent, providing an energetic mix of up-tempo ditties and classic Ballads. Lucy Grey Baird being a singer contributed hugely to the musicality of this prequel. Listening to her tell elements of her story through song was beautiful and hearing her sing ‘The Hanging Tree’ for the first time about an execution she witnessed was a powerful and iconic moment
Final Verdict
The Hunger Games The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. While it has its flaws, the sum of its parts delivers a highly enjoyable and original prequel. I particularly liked the central love story between Cornilious and Lucy. It’s not often in movies we see a couple who are both equally strong and in love but divided by their separate ambitions and idea of what their ‘happily ever after’ should look like.
Traditionally I’m the person happy for franchises to end. Why do we need to know every detail of every character and have films go on indefinitely. But for the first time in ages, I walked out of the cinema wanting to see more. The initial war which led to the defeat of the rebellion and the districts being punished with these games is a period which would be interesting to explore. And I found the relationship between Cornilious and Lucy quite intriguing. Things were left ambiguous with some of the outcomes between them. I find myself wanting to watch a sequel to this movie. Could this be the start of another trilogy?
But when it’s all said and done, all everyone wants to know is whether Lucy and Katniss are related?!
The Hunger Games The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is in Cinemas now. Watch the Official Trailer here
Responses