In 2012, eager movie audiences and fans of the book series flocked to theaters to check out ‘The Hunger Games.’ Over the next few years, the popular sequels were released and all became huge box office hits. Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews Facebook page what your favorite entry of the series is.
Now, after some time waiting, a follow up to the franchise finally makes its way to the big screen and is a worthy return to the world of Panem.
Experience the story of the Hunger Games — 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem. ‘Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ follows a young Coriolanus who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.
With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, a
tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates.
With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.
‘Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is an incredibly entertaining return to the world of Panem. The prequel/origin story delivers exhilarating moments and an intriguing story that shows us a younger Snow before he eventually becomes the president.
The arena sequences that are featured in this installment of the series really stand out and are some of the best parts of the film. Some of these arena scenes are really powerful and can be really tense. In fact, these arena moments are probably some of the most tense arena scenes in the whole franchise. It’s also very cool to see how the early Hunger Games were done in the Panem world before we see how they are in the previous installments.
The story of showing the rise of Coriolanus Snow is also quite interesting and a bit on the moving side. You see how the Snow family has gone through a lot over the years and Snow has to do what it takes to bring his family lineage back. It’s also really intriguing seeing how Snow slowly becomes the villain that we see in the other four films (played by Donald Sutherland in the original series).
The latest ‘Hunger Games’ also features some great performances as well. Rachel Zegler (who has an amazing singing voice in this movie) and Tom Blyth do an amazing job as their respective roles of Lucy Gray Baird and Snow. And, despite them being the lead
characters, Viola Davis absolutely steals the show as the villainous Dr. Volumnia Gaul, who’s the game master in this installment. Davis’ performance is so great and really unhinged in a few moments which makes her character in this film even better.
Overall, this ‘Hunger Games’ is another great entry to the series. The arena action moments are incredible and the dramatic tension can be really powerful at times. Pacing can be off a little bit here and there, but really won’t affect you enjoying the awesome return to the world of Panem.
The cast: Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow; Rachel Zelger as Lucy Gray Baird; Josh Andrews Rivera as Sejanus Plinth; Peter Dinklage as Casca Higbottom; Burn Gorman as Commander Hoff; Fionnula Flanagan as Grandma’am; Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman and Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul.
‘Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is based on the novel by Suzanne Collins (author of the Hunger Games trilogy), written by Michael Lesslie (Assassin’s Creed) and Michael Arndt. (Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Inside Out) and directed by Francis Lawrence (Netflix’s Slumberland; the Hunger Games sequels).
‘Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is rated PG-13 for strong violent content and disturbing material and has a running time of 157 minutes.
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