Described as a libertarian's wet dream come to life, The Hunger Games series has a wide array of fans. What seemed like a revolutionary idea to many, was nothing new in the end. Now, based on the 2020 prequel novel, movie audiences are being transported back to Panem.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes goes back in time 60+ years to tell the story of how Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) started his rise to power. Though, this is also the story of Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the District 12 tribute he is tasked with mentoring in the tenth Hunger Games. What follows falls into the same pitfalls as the rest of the series.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes review
Though lauded by many for its expansive world-building, all Hunger Games stories are dragged down by small details. You can build a society in your story that makes sense when only looking at the broad strokes. But the more intricate, seemingly inconsequential portions of Suzanne Collin’s creation add up to a garbled mess.
The film opens with a young pre-teen Coriolanus and his cousin Tigris scavenging their war-torn neighborhood for food. Cut to them as young 19ish-year-old adults where Coriolanus is getting ready for some big day. The film makes it sound like he is about to get the results of an election that would lead him to his run for presidency. Really, he is just about to graduate school and possibly win a scholarship that would somehow give him money to just live, instead of paying for further schooling.
Unbeknownst to him and his 23 classmates who are up for this prize, things are about to change. All of a sudden these students instead will be made mentors to the incoming Hunger Games participants. Those tributes are being chosen literally minutes after they were told about the change. Luckily, the amount of students up for this prize scholarship perfectly matches the number of kids being ripped from their families to kill each other for the entertainment of others.
Other confusing matters are thrown into this situation. But the above alone is enough to kick a story off on shaky ground. All of these strange little inconsistencies continue throughout the story. They are often no different from the gap of logic from the main story everyone is already familiar with and it tanks what overall is a fairly brilliant-looking film.
A world of contradictions
The Hunger Games really never made much sense. Yes, they play off the horrific aspects of their children’s fight club of death as a way to remind the losers of their civil war of the metaphorical and physical boot on their necks. And even the first film let viewers know that the real reasons have morphed into something else. But, even as a form of entertainment, it makes no sense.
Even if you’re going to stick with kids as your contestants, why have them so unbalanced? Buff and athletic 18-year-olds are in a group of sickly and disabled 12-year-olds. Underdogs or not, it is a poor choice. Who wants to see Mike Tyson obliterate a 115-lb quadriplegic with an oxygen tank? That’s not entertainment.
Aside from the fact that these are unfair match-ups, even for kids, the way these situations play out are confusing. Are you telling me a group of tough kids who band together couldn’t find the terminally ill 13-year-old who literally coughs every 3 seconds? How in the world did that kid hide for more than 5 minutes compared to the DAYS they survived before dying in the most absurd way?
Too long for swift decisions
Forgot about the actual running time. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes feels like it goes on for an eternity. It is told in parts. By the time the Part Two title card came up, I forgot we had one letting us know we were in Part One. Sure, there was a similar feeling when it happened in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Yet, in that case, the entertainment covered up discontent. It also succeeded in having Part Three be a quick epilogue.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes wraps up part two in a very nice little bow to the story of the tenth annual Hunger Games. Only to drop in a Part Three that is way too long. Add in the fact that the evolution of Coriolanus Snow has moved at a rapid pace throughout the entire film. This guy’s mind is changed by every single person he encounters at the snap of one’s finger. He’s a prime candidate for cult religions to pray on.
Let’s also not forget the fact that major, real-world changes are hinged upon the ideas of high schoolers and college students. This guy writes a paper outlining all the parts of the games audiences are now familiar with (sponsors, gifts, etc.), and overnight these not-so-simple-to-implement factors are now a thing. For a society that is still not as advanced as we saw in the original films, that’s both impressive and moronic.
Oddly enough, it also feels like parts of the elongated epilogue were reshot on different cameras. For a single portion of the final stages, it looks like a glossier film with a different frame rate. Maybe I was just getting dizzy from hunger, but I won't be the only one to see it.
Should you watch The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes?
I’ll be real — fans of the books are going to love the film. I can’t help it. It’s another Five Nights at Freddy’s scenario. Fandom will trump proper storytelling and make this new/old installment of The Hunger Games a big hit.
The multitude of logical gaps that build up all through the film though are too much to allow this film to go by, unscathed. If I wrote them all down here, this review would be a novella, itself.
Grade: C-
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will be released on November 17.
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