Genre: Action, adventure, musical
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes primarily caters to die-hard fans of the franchise, providing some comfort and nostalgia, but it falls short of fully delivering insight into the transformation of the character Coriolanus Snow from a kindhearted man to a ruthless leader.
Set 64 years before the events of the first Hunger Games film (2012), the story follows the life of a young Coriolanus (played by Tom Blyth), as he experiences the events of the 10th annual Hunger Games.
Snow is assigned as a mentor to a young tribute from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird (played by Rachel Zegler). The two are forced to work together to survive and win a chance to provide better lives for their families, and ultimately develop a romantic connection.
The film is meant to give insight into Snow’s past and shed light on how he became a ruthless leader of Panem, who set in motion the events of the first three Hunger Games movies.
Unfortunately, this is not fully achieved.
Young Snow is shown to be a kindhearted, empathetic man who will do anything to help his family and friends and while he does make a few bad decisions, it is not clear how, when, and why his values changed.
The film is shot in the same way as the previous movies in the franchise and there are a few callbacks to the previous movies, such as the motivational song that Baird sings which is the same song that Katniss Everdeen sang in all three movies.
Despite articulating the spirit of the franchise well, there are flaws in the film that make it difficult to enjoy, especially if you are not already an existing fan of the franchise or a fan of the lead actors.
The main leads lack chemistry and the sudden romance between them feels forced and unnecessary.
Veteran Viola Davis plays an important character, but her presence feels misplaced.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is streaming on Amazon Prime.
