Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and other “The Hunger Games” movies.
We all have moments of love and ambition in life, but what happens when the things we love destroy our ambitions? This is demonstrated in the new action-packed dystopian movie “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (TBOSAS).
This movie is a prequel to the original “The Hunger Games” series released in the early 2010s. The movie takes place during the 10th annual Hunger Games, when the fictional world of Panem looks very different from what “The Hunger Games” fans know. The game itself is depicted a lot differently than it was in the original movies. In “TBOSAS,” 24 tributes are thrown in a much smaller, gladiator-like arena.
The “TBOSAS” book all starts with the Games, the Capital’s way of punishing the people of Panem for their failed attempt at a rebellion against the Capital, the heart of Panem and the home of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the country. The other parts of Panem are divided into districts which are much poorer and designated to various industries. The Capital requires that each district sends two tributes to the games: a girl and a boy who are picked at random. The tributes are then forced into an arena where they fight to the death until one tribute is left standing, all for the Capital’s entertainment.
The “TBOSAS” movie starts with Coriolanus Snow, the protagonist who is trying to fit in with the other wealthy families in the Capital while his family’s fortune dwindles. As a student of the Capital’s prestigious secondary school, he and his peers are put to the task of mentoring the tributes in the 10th annual Hunger Games. The prize for mentoring the victorious tribute is a scholarship to a sought-after university. Snow is set on winning the scholarship against all odds, but when he is given Lucy Gray of District 12, the least fortunate district, as his tribute, he begins to lose all hope.
Quickly, he finds out Lucy Gray could in fact be exactly what he needs to get that scholarship. She is fiery and will not go down without a fight. The two work together throughout the movie, becoming closer as they understand each others’ situations more deeply. However, Snow’s ambition ultimately sends their plan into disarray.
The story of “TBOSAS” has often been compared to that of the original “Hunger Games” trilogy. In particular, fans have contrasted the characters of Katniss Everdeen and Lucy Gray Baird, but those characters and their stories are much more different than they are similar.
Katniss’ story is about a fiery girl who starts a revolution and topples a government. Lucy Gray’s story is about how, in her most desperate times, she fell in love with a man and when she finally reached prosperity with him, she realized he had made the unforgivable decision of murdering four people that destroyed their relationship. Ultimately, Snow loses all of the things he is most ambitious for which is why this story is more akin to a tragedy than the fiery revolution of the first three books.
Overall, “TBOSAS” is an entertaining movie that offers a lot in expanding the world of “The Hunger Games” and showcases a creative story with interesting themes. The movie will be a fun watch for non-fans with great performances, beautiful cinematography and an intriguing, although potentially hard-to-follow story. Fans of the original trilogy will appreciate this exploration of the histories of President Snow and his contemporaries, eventually finding out how he became who he was at the end of his life.
