Hello Movie Lovers!

Man, has this week been tough! Work, school, and writing are warring against each other more than ever, and I’m experiencing some mental health issues, but I hope you’ve having a good week and staying strong.

For my grad school assignment, I can watch two more movies, so I picked The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

I didn’t love the book version of this (see my review here), but I wanted something more current for my project and this fit the bill. I was also hoping to like this more than the book.

Let’s get into the review!

Blurb

In this prequel to The Hunger Games, a young Coriolanus Snow – decades before becoming the tyrannical President of Panem – battles his instincts between good and evil as he mentors Lucy Gray Baird in the 10th Hunger Games.

IMDB

Prime Video

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

Coriolanus Snow and his family live in the capital of Panem. A formerly wealthy family, they now face homelessness just as the 10th Hunger Games starts. Snow is desperate for a prize reward that comes with each year, but when the rules change he is forced to mentor a young woman named Lucy Gray fighting in the arena. As the two spend time together a romance blooms between them, but can Snow save her from a grisly death in the Hunger Games?

I have some mixed feelings about this film, though it was an entertaining adventure.

This film is a prequel to the Hunger Games quartet we all know and love, with Snow as the main character.

What I enjoyed most was the setting. Nearly sixty years before the events of the first Hunger Games film, Panem is quite different from the vision of perfection we’ve seen. It has cracks, some of them large, and seeing the vast difference felt realistic. The Hunger Games themselves are a distant echo from what they become, more simple and flawed, and it was a perspective I hadn’t really considered.

While the tenth Hunger Games itself it a main plot point, it doesn’t fully take control of the film and allows the viewer to spend time observing Snow and Lucy Gray.

The characters overall felt fleshed out and three-dimensional. I especially loved Viola Davis’ role as the menacing Dr. Volumnia Gaul, who is essentially a mad scientist. Her ruthlessness and quirk made her a standout. Lucy Gray was spunky but deep down a person with a good head on her shoulders.

However, Coriolanus Snow is where I have some conflicting thoughts. His character is spurred to action by his financial situation and is conflicted by the romance with Lucy Gray, but in the third act he becomes even more conflicted between these two paths. His actions that were previously justified are suddenly sporadic and without a clear explanation of where his head space is. Admittedly, I had the same feelings with the original novel, but on the other hand we wouldn’t have the villainous President Snow without this tumultuous journey of his.

Regardless of its faults, this movie is still an entertaining adventure, whether you’re new to the franchise or not. Give it a try!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this movie review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you seen this movie? Are there other similar movies you’ve seen that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

Join My ARC Review Team | Subscribe

 Facebook | GoodReads | Bookbub | Tumblr | Instagram