I really got swept up by The Hunger Games films when they released in the early-mid 2010’s. Whilst most of my generation were bewitched by the magic of Harry Potter or dazzled by the sparkly vampires of Twilight, I was being recruited into a resistance movement to fight a fascist and bloodthirsty totalitarian government…different strokes for different folks I suppose.
But the YA adaptation genre died a swift and sudden death around the time of the fourth Hunger Games film, Mockingjay Part 2, and so franchises needed to wrap up fast or face cancellation.
Lionsgate had been eyeing up The Hunger Games for an expanded cinematic universe for a while, but it seemed like a big gamble to just try and revive the YA genre following such a mass audience walkout a few years earlier. But when Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins published a fourth book, a prequel, one that sold quite well despite a global pandemic hindering the launch, Lionsgate rolled the dice and greenlit a film adaptation. So now, ten years after the first film’s launch, we have a fifth Hunger Games film, one that doesn’t utilise any of the original series’ greatest assets. But I have to say, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes isn’t just a long overdue return to Panem, but it’s one of the best films in the franchise.
When a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is forced into the role of mentor at the tenth annual Hunger Games, tasked with turning his tribute, District Twelve’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), into a spectacle for the nation to fall in love with.
As Snow transforms the games, he finds himself falling for Lucy Gray which puts his life in the Capitol, and his potential future as President of Panem at risk.
But the YA adaptation genre died a swift and sudden death around the time of the fourth Hunger Games film, Mockingjay Part 2, and so franchises needed to wrap up fast or face cancellation.
Lionsgate had been eyeing up The Hunger Games for an expanded cinematic universe for a while, but it seemed like a big gamble to just try and revive the YA genre following such a mass audience walkout a few years earlier. But when Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins published a fourth book, a prequel, one that sold quite well despite a global pandemic hindering the launch, Lionsgate rolled the dice and greenlit a film adaptation. So now, ten years after the first film’s launch, we have a fifth Hunger Games film, one that doesn’t utilise any of the original series’ greatest assets. But I have to say, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes isn’t just a long overdue return to Panem, but it’s one of the best films in the franchise.
When a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is forced into the role of mentor at the tenth annual Hunger Games, tasked with turning his tribute, District Twelve’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), into a spectacle for the nation to fall in love with.
As Snow transforms the games, he finds himself falling for Lucy Gray which puts his life in the Capitol, and his potential future as President of Panem at risk.
It would have been easy for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to have just leaned into nostalgia and presented a prequel that only exists to riff off the popularity of the original films, but director Francis Lawrence has managed to give the film an identity of its own to entice newcomers, and trusting that long-time fans will be interested regardless. There are a few hiccups here and there such as Lucky Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman) proclaiming himself to be the ‘first ever host of the Hunger Games’ which only has any gravitas when you consider his son Caesar is the host decades later. There’s also a cringe-inducing moment where Snow and Lucy Gray discuss Swamp Potato…or Katniss as it’s more affectionately called. But other than those two moments The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actually stands on its own two feet and deliver a powerful YA drama about the fragility of political systems, and how the prospect of absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The biggest hurdle the story has to overcome is how do you make a character like Snow sympathetic when we already know him as an evil and merciless tyrant? The answer is surprisingly complex, and the key to it is a confident first act and a magnetic performance from Blyth. Songbjrds and Snakes dedicates a decent chunk of the film’s opening to establish Snow as this lower class member of society who people treat like dirt on the bottom of their shoe. Even within the Capitol there is a vast division of wealth, and whilst Snow’s life might seem pretty cushy to a District Twelve citizen, by Capitol standards the Snow family is in dire financial straits and on the verge of becoming homeless.
This portrayal of classism within elite society gets us on board with Snow because he’s so determined to climb the ranks of the social ladder, seeing Presidency as his way to provide for his family and he’s necessary to do whatever it takes to get there. His opinion of the Hunger Games themselves is indifferent, he understands why they’re ‘necessary’, but unlike his peers he does see the tributes as human beings and that’s where we see this positive side to him that we are able to latch onto.
By making Snow indifferent to the games and surrounding him with peers that either fundamentally agree or disagree with the games allows Blyth to not only make Snow a kind of impartial mediator for the audience to align with, but also brings out his more poisonous traits which are fleshed out in the final act to show his transformation into the villain we love to hate. He is constantly discussing and contemplating the ethics and politics of the games to his peers in the Capitol and this is honestly some of the best writing in the entire franchise. Blyth is brilliant here, and he provides such a strong performance.
The chemistry between him and Zegler is palpable and it really sold me on their characters’ romance. When she isn’t paired with Blyth, Zegler’s performance dips significantly, I must say I wasn’t a big fan of her here and I get the impression that she was only chosen because of her powerful singing, of which there is an almost comical amount (Lionsgate paid for a singer they’re damn well getting one am I right?).
The biggest hurdle the story has to overcome is how do you make a character like Snow sympathetic when we already know him as an evil and merciless tyrant? The answer is surprisingly complex, and the key to it is a confident first act and a magnetic performance from Blyth. Songbjrds and Snakes dedicates a decent chunk of the film’s opening to establish Snow as this lower class member of society who people treat like dirt on the bottom of their shoe. Even within the Capitol there is a vast division of wealth, and whilst Snow’s life might seem pretty cushy to a District Twelve citizen, by Capitol standards the Snow family is in dire financial straits and on the verge of becoming homeless.
This portrayal of classism within elite society gets us on board with Snow because he’s so determined to climb the ranks of the social ladder, seeing Presidency as his way to provide for his family and he’s necessary to do whatever it takes to get there. His opinion of the Hunger Games themselves is indifferent, he understands why they’re ‘necessary’, but unlike his peers he does see the tributes as human beings and that’s where we see this positive side to him that we are able to latch onto.
By making Snow indifferent to the games and surrounding him with peers that either fundamentally agree or disagree with the games allows Blyth to not only make Snow a kind of impartial mediator for the audience to align with, but also brings out his more poisonous traits which are fleshed out in the final act to show his transformation into the villain we love to hate. He is constantly discussing and contemplating the ethics and politics of the games to his peers in the Capitol and this is honestly some of the best writing in the entire franchise. Blyth is brilliant here, and he provides such a strong performance.
The chemistry between him and Zegler is palpable and it really sold me on their characters’ romance. When she isn’t paired with Blyth, Zegler’s performance dips significantly, I must say I wasn’t a big fan of her here and I get the impression that she was only chosen because of her powerful singing, of which there is an almost comical amount (Lionsgate paid for a singer they’re damn well getting one am I right?).
The film is divided into three distinct acts and whilst the first two work pretty well, the third feels almost like an entirely different film and also goes on for significantly longer than the other two did. I actually checked my watch at the start of the third act and there was still almost an hour of the film left which considering the action climax had already come in act two seemed very long for what was essentially just getting Snow to the point he needed to be to become the franchise villain going forward; and boy does it sprint towards that like it’s going for gold at the Olympics.
Whilst this third act is strong, it does beg the question as to whether Songbirds and Snakes should have been two separate films. This is a point that director Francis Lawrence addressed in the lead up to release, regarding the backlash from splitting The Hunger Games: Mockingjay into two films, a practice that at the time was commonplace. He stated that it doesn’t work to split a film in two and release them a year apart, and whilst generally I agree with that statement, with Songbirds and Snakes the third act is an entirely different film from a tonal, aesthetic, and even narrative perspective. Yes, it continues the story, but it puts the relationship between Snow and Baird in a completely different context in a new location and is fundamentally about different things. It feels more aligned with a sequel than the final act of one story, so I feel that two films might have actually worked well for this.
It’s also worth mentioning the excellent performances from Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the head game maker; and Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom, the creator of the games themselves and Dean of the school at which Snow attends.
You already know you’re in for a good time with these two around but they both bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the film that makes it intellectually superior to all of its predecessors. Davis in particular is having a great time in the role and she makes me genuinely uncomfortable as the main villain of the story.
I’m so happy to see The Hunger Games return from the dead, and I really hope that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does well enough to warrant Lionsgate exploring opportunities for further expansion into the franchise. More Hunger Games is always welcomed by me.
Whilst Songbirds and Snakes may not be as finely tuned and perfectly balanced as Catching Fire was, it feels considerably more refined and intellectually stimulating than any of the previous films in the series. I’d say it about matches the quality of the original film overall, and for a franchise that’s been dormant for this long and is being revived using a villain prequel origin story, this is way better than it had any right to be.
Whilst this third act is strong, it does beg the question as to whether Songbirds and Snakes should have been two separate films. This is a point that director Francis Lawrence addressed in the lead up to release, regarding the backlash from splitting The Hunger Games: Mockingjay into two films, a practice that at the time was commonplace. He stated that it doesn’t work to split a film in two and release them a year apart, and whilst generally I agree with that statement, with Songbirds and Snakes the third act is an entirely different film from a tonal, aesthetic, and even narrative perspective. Yes, it continues the story, but it puts the relationship between Snow and Baird in a completely different context in a new location and is fundamentally about different things. It feels more aligned with a sequel than the final act of one story, so I feel that two films might have actually worked well for this.
It’s also worth mentioning the excellent performances from Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the head game maker; and Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom, the creator of the games themselves and Dean of the school at which Snow attends.
You already know you’re in for a good time with these two around but they both bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the film that makes it intellectually superior to all of its predecessors. Davis in particular is having a great time in the role and she makes me genuinely uncomfortable as the main villain of the story.
I’m so happy to see The Hunger Games return from the dead, and I really hope that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does well enough to warrant Lionsgate exploring opportunities for further expansion into the franchise. More Hunger Games is always welcomed by me.
Whilst Songbirds and Snakes may not be as finely tuned and perfectly balanced as Catching Fire was, it feels considerably more refined and intellectually stimulating than any of the previous films in the series. I’d say it about matches the quality of the original film overall, and for a franchise that’s been dormant for this long and is being revived using a villain prequel origin story, this is way better than it had any right to be.