Review: 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes' reminds that the odds are always in their favour

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes

It has been eight years since the franchise of Hunger Games last graced us. Apart from her films that made her the icon she is, the Hunger Games franchise cemented Jennifer Lawrence as a box office force as well.

Now, after all these years, one pandemic and a new book later, we have The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (BOS&S). Set sixty-four years before the events of the first film happened, we rewind to now an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), who is a young, dynamic and ambitious boy on his way to some glory and getting some respite back to his once-rich family in a post-war Capitol. This includes a number of challenges, which include him faking his rich status in front of others. His own family includes his sister, Tigris (Hunter Schaffer) and Grand Ma'am (Fionnula Flanagan), where he is trying to give him a better life and, most importantly, his tricky relationship with his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) forms the rest of the film.

Having had the chance to see the film beforehand, here's what I thought about it-

The Establishment, The Relationships & The Performances

Mind you, the timeline in which Hunger Games: BOS&S has worked out for the big screen is incredibly fast. That could have meant patchiness or an undercooked screenplay. However, none of that is a concern as Hunger Games veteran director Francis Lawrence and his team set up a marvellous portrait of a prequel that works more often than not. In terms of establishing the characters, the screenplay is knit so neatly that right from a young Snow to Lucy Gray, everyone gets a mini-entry sequence, which is enough to have you intrigued. It's rustic, real and riveting. Due to its long runtime, the film divides itself into three chapters smartly so that each chapter is given enough time to work its way to a crescendo that satisfies gradually. The part where the film shines even more is the relationships that you see between the characters - be it Snow and Sejanus Plinth, Snow and sister, Tigris and, of course, Snow and Lucy Gray. Even the inclusion of Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman as the first television host of the 10th Hunger Games is delightful, even more so due to the fantastic performance from Jason Schwartzman.

And that brings us to the performances of the others - each and every actor, ranging from the principal character to the supporting cast and even the extras, is so good and impactful that it elevates the writing multiple folds. You expect legends like Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage to be as brilliant as they always are with their own nuggets of input to Snow throughout the games, and you also expect a rising star like Rachel Zegler to be amazing again, but it is actor Tom Blyth as Snow, who steals the show! Blyth is relatively new to the industry in terms of being an adult actor and has only a few credits to his name. But to be leading a mega project like this and being so effortless and fitting as he is, it's an incredible feat.

The Technical Aspects, Overall Runtime & Future

I reiterate when I see films like Hunger Games achieving technical excellence in about half the money and investment that the mega Marvel movies do, I am surprised and perplexed at the same time. Touted to be a 100 million dollar project, The Hunger Games is technically sound in every department. From the detailing to the research and effort, everything is done intricately and effectively. There isn't a single moment where Hunger Games feels anything short of a mega film, which could have cost so many millions of dollars more.

There are a few other portions where the film does falter, and one of them is the runtime. It isn't that the film gets boring at any point in time, but the second and especially third chapters feel like a drag where you predict the outcome in bits and parts. Tigris, being such an important character in the actual Hunger Games franchise, only gets a tease here and while that may be by design. I felt she wasn't explored enough, especially where you have an actor like Hunter Schaffer playing it.

And coming to the future it looks brighter than ever for this new world of Hunger Games we are venturing into. It feels so new yet so familiar.

The Verdict

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a supreme return to the world that we loved and cared for several years ago. In one scene towards the end, when Snow is having a moment of breakdown and being cathartic, you, as the viewer, also feel the same catharsis only for this magnificent world of Hunger Games that is a fantasy but a fantasy; you don't want to be exiting from.

Rating - ***1/2 (3.5/5)