2012 called and the craze for The Hunger Games has returned. Director Francis Lawrence thrusts viewers into a President Snows’ villain origin story set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen enters the reaping. Lawrence directed Catching Fire and Mockingjay parts 1 and 2, and they did not waste any time, transporting the viewers back into the dystopia of Panem almost nine years later. Suzanne Collins, author of the best-selling book trilogy which the movies are based on, is an integral part of the writing process, keeping storylines true to their intention and fans of the books, mostly happy with the adaptations.
The film begins with protagonist, Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), navigating a post-war Panem, set on suppressing District uprising by forcing children into a Battle Royal-esque, fight to the death for the entertainment of the winners of the war, The Capitol. With his eyes set on a scholarship to secure a full ride to university, he is assigned as a mentor to the 10th annual Hunger Games tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). The two develop a whirlwind romance as Baird is forced to fight for her life in the arena, while Snow watches the spectacle with the rest of the mentors.
Villain origin stories often leave the same question in their wake: “Should we humanise villains on screen?”. Coriolanus teeters the line of villain and victim carelessly throughout the film. Raised in poverty by his grandmother and cousin after the death of his father, Major General Crassus Snow, Coriolanus struggles to fit in to the prestigious and albeit, vicious environment of the Academy. The film continues the dichotomy of Snow’s character prequel character vs. the ruthless dictatory portrayed in the original trilogy, by introducing him as someone who would give up his own food rather than see his family go hungry. The writers and director truly do an incredible job at portraying Snow’s slow dissent into evil, as the movie highlights numerous scenarios where the theory of nature vs. nurture is exemplified. The movie really does succeed in questioning if future President Snow (and ultimately humankind) is born into violence and chaos or if it is the natural state of the world. Suzanne Collins’ direct involvement with production and writing of this instalment does keep the thematic questions of human nature and governance consistent throughout the franchise.
One catalyst to Snow’s downfall is his developing feelings for free-spirited songbird, Lucy Gray Baird. Unfortunately, the insta-love romance has the two characters falling in love so quickly, Baird doesn’t even have an outfit change before she is sacrificing her life for Snow. The quick shift from studious Snow to careless and risking not only his reputation but his life for the girl he is assigned to mentor truly made the coupling seem juvenile and unbelievable. This as well as the sporadic musical numbers, really pulls the viewer out of the serious life or death dystopic that the movie tries to set for previous slow-burn love triangle from the previous movies. Don’t get me wrong, Zegler is a phenomenal singer but breaking into song after being selected to fight to the death on screen is comical, in an otherwise very serious movie. It didn’t add the comedic value, it just had me laughing at the screen… and not in a good way.
In the conclusion, there really is no conclusion. The film ends leaving more questions than answers. While it succeeded in many ways of having the viewers question the sequence of events that lead to the dictator we know and hate from the previous movies, we don’t really get any answers. Without a sequel on the horizon, the film, arguably, leaves the viewer unsatisfied with dead ends on character development, gaps in storylines and questions still lingering between the Hunger Games we know and love and the new instalment.
With all this being said, the theatrical execution and production value was well executed.
It is apparent to viewers that there was thought put into the re-emergence of this franchise, with the carry-over of production personnel, star-studded score and dreamy A-list cast, it is no wonder that there’s been buzz (and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes) surrounding The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
