The Hunger Games Has Returned

SPOILER WARNING for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Image c/o Lionsgate 

By Madison Sciba
Editor-in-Chief

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Eleven years after the first movie in the Hunger Games franchise was released, a prequel hit theaters. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years before Katniss volunteers for her sister in the reaping. The film centers around Lucy Gray Baird, a singer from the poor District 12 and her romance with capital student, Coriolanus Snow. The film is essentially the villain origin story of the evil President Snow that we see in the original Hunger Games trilogy. 

Normally a prequel or spinoff of a popular franchise can be a severe disappointment to fans. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, however, held up to the standard set by The Hunger Games over ten years ago. The movie not only filled a void that was left after Mockingjay Part 2 was released but can have some fans leaving the theater with a moral conundrum. 

The central character, Coriolanus Snow, spends the entire film in constant conflict with his morals. Those with knowledge of the original trilogy know that Snow eventually becomes the ruthless dictator who causes so much death and violence. In the film, however, the audience even starts to pity him: the poor pretty boy down on his luck doing what he thinks is best for his family and country. It did not hurt, of course, that the actor chosen to play the young Coriolanus Snow was extremely attractive. 

Overall the film was impressive and fit extremely well into the Hunger Games universe. It may surprise some people, but the focus of the film is not on the Games but rather Snow’s life and internal conflicts. While it is a serious film with a lot of death, there is a surprising amount of humor. Lucky Flickerman steals the show with his witty and snarky commentary. “Ill Dill, tuberculosis on legs,” said about one of the characters, was out of pocket but made the entire theater chuckle. 

If you enjoyed the previous movies or just want a deeper understanding of the trilogy, I highly recommend reading the novel of the same name. It goes in such depth and is told through Snow’s point of view, giving a much deeper angle to the character’s intentions and thoughts. 

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