Set as a prequel to the “The Hunger Games” franchise movies, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” shows the backstory of popular villain Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth). Directed by Francis Lawrence, who directed all previous “Hunger Games” movies, the film showcases the young
Snow and his transition from a promising mentor to the tyrannical president he later becomes.
The film, like all the other movies in the franchise, focuses on the Hunger Games, an event created by the government to enact punishment on the districts, where tributes, those people selected for the
games, fight to the death. Snow is tasked with mentoring a tribute from the lowest rank-
ing district, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). To give Baird the best chance of survival, Snow makes Baird more appealing to the public.
Early on, we see Snow as someone who opposes the idea of the games. As he learns more about Baird, he begins to fall in love with her, causing him to secretly give her items and valuable information so she
has a better chance of survival.
However, as the film progresses, Snow begins to fall further from his goal of opposing the government and more towards the idea of power. He begins killing innocents to allow Baird to live, becoming a hypocrite to his ideals. This spiral into madness sets up Snow to be the antagonist in the main films of the franchise.
The standout performance in this film is, Blyth’s performance as Coriolanus Snow. Blyth
shows the young and naive Snow as someone wanting to make a change but going about it in the wrong way. His idea of making the tributes more appealing to the public makes the games more popular, which
creates a higher demand for the games and decades of more death. The film shows Snow’s delicate fall into insanity as he justifies his killings, all for the greater good of protecting Baird.
However, this film has some flaws, the most glaring being its terrible pacing. The movie is split into three parts: pre, during, and post-Hunger Games. In the beginning, there is a good progression of giving each of the characters their motivations and backgrounds. However, towards the end of the movie, the pacing begins to fall apart. For example, Snow is shown as a moral character through the first and second parts, but towards the end, he rejects those ideals. Although it sets up his later role as an antagonist, the shift from moral to evil does not progress as it should, but instead feels more like the flick of a switch.
Additionally, the love story between Snow and Baird confused me. Almost immediately, the two of them have a connection despite being from different districts with obvious prejudices towards each other. The awkward timeline and progression of their romance, causes the connection between Snow and Baird to be quite shallow.
Despite the movie’s flaws, it will still delight fans of the franchise. Seeing the development of a hated character was rewarding despite the awkward pacing, and delivers a captivating narrative that adds a lot to the overall Hunger Games universe.