The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
I was all in from the first moment I heard about The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The original Hunger Games series is an annual rewatch for me, an amazing story full of amazing characters portrayed by amazing talent (Caesar Flickerman being my favorite). Being the pie-eyed optimist that you know me to be, how could I not be psyched for a rebirth (or pre-birth, if you like) of the franchise?
Snow: Coriolanus or White?
The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes stars Rachel Zegler, a fairly new face on the scene, with a pretty lean IMDB profile. She was in the West Side Story remake and Shazam II. However, she is MOST notable for the absolutely reviled live action remake of Snow White, where the 7 dwarves were reimagined as the 7 magical creatures of mostly normal size but vastly diverse ethnicities and (presumably) sexual preferences.
That movie hasn’t even been released yet and the backlash has been so severe that it has been rewritten, rebranded, reshot and finally postponed indefinitely. This all in no small part to Rachel Zegler’s very public promotion of the character as a…uh…girl boss? Can we call it that? Let’s call it that. More on that later. Enough to say that she did not put the odds in her favor.
In spite of all the ruffled feathers caused by the off-camera opinions of the songbird element in The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I was still excited to see this movie. And just like the latest Indiana Jones and Barbie movies, ignoring all the social media talking heads with their pre-formed opinions served me well. I really enjoyed this movie on multiple levels.
For those of you who don’t know, The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel to the fantastically successful and original Hunger Games series staring Jennifer Lawrence and a whole arena full of stars too numerous to list here.
Taking place only 10 years after the rebellion in the Districts, this movie focuses on a very young Coriolanus Snow (previously played by the always amazing Donald Sutherland). Corio is a child of the Capital (which is to say the societal elite), but not one of their more prominent or wealthy children. The Snow family have fallen on hard times and all their hopes for reclaiming their once lofty social status rest on Coriolanus winning a scholastic ‘prize’.
Highbottom…that’s some funny shite…
The Hunger Games, as created in the Panem charter, is losing popularity in the Capital and fomenting new rebellion in the districts. Enter Volumnia Gaul (played by a maniacal Viola Davis) as the current Head Gamesmaster. She is looking to save her skin and increase her own power by turning the Hunger Games around. To do that, she has enlisted the best minds of the Academy, along with their Dean, Casca Highbottom (fantastically portrayed by Peter Dinklage). Coriolanus’ ideas found favor with Dr Gaul and Coriolanus was thrust into the very heart of the Capitals dark, soulless fight for power, like a political Hunger Games.
Like the original series, The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is deliciously multi-layered. At times an action movie (though less so this time around), other times a will-they-wont-they love story, but always a taught political drama, full of twists and turns. With a run-time of 2 hrs and 38 minutes it might have felt a tad overlong, but certainly worth holding your bladder for.
Overstuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey
The flaws I found in The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes were few and easy to overlook. I loved that they included more than a couple of scenes that foreshadow the games to come (like the origination of the song ‘Hanging Tree’, sung by Katniss in the first series). Jason Sshwartzman as Lucretius ‘Lucky’ Flickerman, who had impossibe shoes to fill following Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman performance. He did what he could so kudos to him.
There were lots of those member-berries. Some worked, some did not. A bow by Lucy Gray Baird exactly like the one Katniss gave the Gamekeepers felt forced. Likewise a shot of an unused bow and arrows in the cornucopia of the arena. Then there was a ham-fisted mention of a katniss plant. Seriously, no one watching this movie doesn’t know who Katniss Everdeen will one day be. No need to stuff the member-berries down our throat.
And seriously…again with the Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III scene change frames??? They add zero value to the movie and only serve to take the viewer out of the story. Stop it already. I’ll fight you.
The story of Coriolanus Snow…emphasis on the ANUS
Though there are no current plans for there to be another book or movie in this series, there’s just too much story left to tell in the tale of Coriolanus Snow’s ascendence to the pinacle of Capital power. I’ll be surprised if this movie doesn’t spawn at least one more. If the movie fails at the box office, it wont be because of the movie itself. I’m giving The Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes a solid 4/5 and am very much hoping to see this story continue. I am a fan, social agendas be damned.
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