The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

In a cinematic landscape dominated by franchise films, there is no franchise I admire more than the Hunger Games, based on Suzanne Collins’s novels of the same name. Not only are these films entertaining and well-made, but they also serve a purpose. Though it’s far from the first blockbuster franchise to have themes, its critiques of fascism and the American government are extremely well-executed and puts many satires to shame. 

Usually, movie prequels focus on the genesis of a world or a society. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes doesn’t do that though, since it’s already been explained a hundred times how Panem became Panem. Instead, it opts to tell a story about Hunger Games president Coriolanus Snow when he was young, giving us an insightful look at how he became the imposing villain we know from the original series and why he detested Katniss so much.

Yes, it keeps the action and intensity of the original films, but that’s only a small part of why it works so well. The film sets itself apart from most blockbusters by being a character study first and foremost. This is in clear contrast to the 15 generic MCU films we get each year, with stale bread characters whose sole functions are to make silly quips and be cool enough to sell toys.

You see, what the Hunger Games have always been good at is bringing meaning to blockbuster cinema. When you root for Katniss Everdeen, you aren’t just rooting for a generic hero; you’re rooting against facism and for a better world. When you root for Lucy Gray Baird, you’re rooting against the creation of the authoritarian system that crushes hope and innocence. Sure, you want them to kick ass and win, but you also hate that the games even exist.

Coriolanus Snow is a fascinating, excellently written character who is blessed with an incredible performance by Tom Blyth. You know he grows up to be: a homicidal maniac who gets off on the murder of children and also forced Finnick (the love of my life) to become a prostitute. He’s an awful human being and deserves 0 respect or sympathy. That being said, god is he charming. If the landscape of TikTok says anything about the reception to Snow, he’s really fucking charming. Not only is Tom Blyth attractive, but the character is played with so much brilliant charisma that you can see why Lucy Gray fell for him. As Lucy Gray gets manipulated by him, so does the viewer. Everyone knows what he eventually does, but we can’t help but giggle and twirl our hair anyways. It’s to the film’s merit that Snow is such an endearing character here.

Lucy Gray Baird also works perfectly as his foil. She’s everything he’s not: soft spoken and a decent human being. But while she has very little in common with Snow, you can clearly see parallels between her and Katniss Everdeen. The existence of Lucy Gray and the prequel serves to contextualize just why Snow hated Katniss so much and why he was threatened by her. He loved Lucy Gray while also being intimidated by her. Rachel Zegler is obviously a rising star, and she continues to give really damn good performances. She’s also such a phenomenal singer that it’s no surprise that her songs from the film have ended up as TikTok hits and even chart. 

When people kept saying “The new Hunger Games was actually good?”, I couldn’t help but laugh. The franchise has never been anything but; this is just a fantastic new addition to the collection. May the odds ever be in your favor. 

8/10