Following the global phenomenon of the original Hunger Games saga from author Suzanne Collins, which consisted of three books told over four films, its prequel story The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is next to jump off the page and onto the big screen come November 17.
Being an origin story before Jennifer Lawrence’s beloved character Katniss Everdeen ever even existed, the focus of this story centers around how President Coriolanus Snow became the man and ferocious leader that he would ultimately become.
With the young actor Tom Blyth filling the very big shoes of Snow in Songbirds and Snakes (a role previously played by veteran actor Donald Sutherland), we get a quality glimpse into the early life of an academically-driven Snow in the Capitol of Panem, striving to be the top student in his class, as he is driven to create a better life for himself and his family.
As a final test for Snow and his competitive peers by the Dean of the Academy, Casca Highbottom (played by Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage), each of these bright scholars become paired with an ill-fated tribute, selected from one of the 12 districts of Panem, with the mission to make these kids and young adults more of a spectacle to the public, before they are forced to fight to the death in the televised 10th annual Hunger Games.
As fate would have it, Snow is paired up with District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird, a colorfully dressed and rebellious musician (with a most enchanting singing voice), who is understandably unhappy with the life-or-death circumstances she now finds herself in. As the two characters get to know each other better, lines of professionalism start to get blurred and the series of events that follow start to make Snow question his own allegiance to the ways of the Capitol.
Oscar winner Viola Davis is deliciously evil as head gamemaker of the Hunger Games, Dr. Volumnia Gaul, in Songbirds and Snakes. As intense and sinister as she is throughout the film, the way she so articulately justifies the decisions of the Capitol on these poor tributes makes her character that much more intriguing and dangerous.
Co-starring Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer as Snow’s concerned and level-headed cousin, Tigris, who attempts to be his voice of reason, especially when his compassionate values start to dwindle from the added pressures he is expected to uphold at the Capitol.
The real victor of this latest Hunger Games tale is the actor Jason Schwartzman, who plays local weatherman-turned-first ever Hunger Games host Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman. Already known for his often dry humor in many of Wes Anderson’s films, the way Schwartzman is able to hilariously execute Flickerman’s cheeky one-liners, his quick comeback responses and his overall narcissistic demeanor is one of the most crowd-pleasing parts of this film, bringing some much-needed levity to scenes when the imminent threat of death hangs in the balance.
After directing the first four Hunger Games films, filmmaker Francis Lawrence is back in the director’s chair for Songbirds and Snakes. This was a very smart choice, as the look and feel of this prequel definitely has a similar tone to the created world its predecessors. However, unlike the vividly dressed, fashion-forward Capitol people we know from the later stories, the colors in Songbirds and Snakes are far more dull during this time in young Snow’s life, as the people of Panem are still feeling the sting of the recent uprising of districts against the Capitol just a few years earlier.
Following the lead of Collins from her books and the addition of screenwriters Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie, Songbirds and Snakes does an excellent job of clearly showing us original Hunger Games fans that this is in fact several decades B.K. (Before Katniss), through the use of more vintage fashion, transportation and technology surrounding the film. From the cars on the streets to the television screens broadcasting the Hunger Games, it gives off a nostalgically charming 1960s vibe within this fictional world.
Like any book-turned-film, there is always a likely chance for some push back from moviegoers on its adaptation. Unlike the previous Mockingjay book, which was turned into two films, director Lawrence decided to tell the story of Songbirds and Snakes as one film, recently admitting to People that he regrets turning Mockingjay into two parts. Some may argue that the pacing of the new film’s conclusion feels a bit rushed, but I would rather have one packed-in, two and a half hour film than two films stretched out for no good reason.
Also worth noting is the strategic decision to attach one of the most beloved young music superstars today to this longtime beloved film franchise. Not only is Olivia Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now” a great song for the soundtrack and quite fitting with the melodramatic narrative of Songbirds and Snakes, it is also an intelligent marketing tool being utilized well across social media right now, to further intrigue Gen Z moviegoers to show up in big numbers for the film’s opening weekend.
Circling back to the leading performances, Blythe does an excellent job portraying Snow, a conflicted man struggling to grasp what is right and wrong anymore. Zegler captivates the screen as the underdog heroine of this story, embodying a sharp wit and a soaring spirit to want to survive. Yes, there is no “girl on fire” in this Hunger Games prequel, but this is definitely the enjoyable spark that started it all.
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