The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) Review
It has been eight years since The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 ended the lucrative film franchise back in 2015. And then along came Suzanne Collins’ prequel novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020 and Lionsgate fast-tracked the film adaptation with franchise mainstay Francis Lawrence calling the shots once again.
In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, the prequel takes place a few decades before the events of Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen era, focusing mainly on the 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth). We learn that the Snows were once a wealthy and powerful family before everything changed dramatically following the death of his father, General Crassus Snow.
Now living with his cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer) and their grandmother (Fionnula Flanagan), Coriolanus is hoping to turn things around when he is chosen to mentor a tribute for the upcoming 10th Hunger Games, marking the first time for such a rule since its inception.
However, upon the selection process, Coriolanus is dismayed when the Hunger Games’ host Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman) assigns Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from the poverty-stricken District 12. She seems like bad news, judging by her volatile and rebellious nature but manages to garner public attention with her defiant song. Coriolanus decided to use her gifted vocal talent as leverage to boost her popularity while coming up with a plan to ensure her victory in the 10th Hunger Games.
Francis Lawrence’s deliberate storytelling, which he directs from Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt’s adapted screenplay allows him to flesh out Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird’s respective character arcs. It also helps that he brings out the best in his stellar cast, notably Tom Blyth’s layered performance as the young Coriolanus Snow, where circumstances and harsh realities gradually change the way he sees things. Rachel Zegler is equally captivating as Lucy Gray Baird and more so with her incredible voice whenever she belts out a song.
The prequel also benefits from a solid supporting cast ranging from Peter Dinklage as the Dean of the Academy Casca “Cas” Highbottom to Jason Schwartzman as the host Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman. Not to forget, Viola Davis in her sneaky turn as the head gamemaker Dr Volumnia Gaul.
Likewise, no Hunger Games would be complete without the titular game itself. Lawrence stages the game sequences with matter-of-fact brutality, albeit within the confines of a mainstream-friendly rating. The action is messy and gritty and it’s understandably so, given this is the earlier stage of the Hunger Games, unlike the ones we saw in the later Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen era. Uli Hanisch’s production design is top-notch from the retro ’60s-inspired control room, where the mentors monitor their tributes during the game to the Capitol’s partially-ruined battle arena.
One of the common problems that plagued the first four Hunger Games movies was the overlong and padded-out storytelling. The Hunger Games prequel runs nearly 2 hours 40 minutes, making it the longest duration in the franchise does suffer the same issue but only to a certain extent. Such a lengthy runtime is at least justifiable since the prequel details the backstory of the young Coriolanus Snow before he becomes the authoritarian president of Panem that we love to hate in the Jennifer Lawrence-led Hunger Games movie series. But there’s a nagging feeling in me that it might work better if Lawrence tells his expanded story in the form of a miniseries.
As much as I’m impressed with the outstanding cast all around, the eventual payoff is somehow diluted with an underwhelming third act. This is especially true with the way Lawrence seems to be holding back the consequences of what makes Coriolanus become a different person. Besides, with the amount of time invested in developing his character, the last thing I need here is a finale that feels anticlimactic.
Despite its shortcomings, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes remains an intriguing and well-acted prequel that thankfully doesn’t feel like a cash grab trying to capitalise on the popularity of the franchise.
