Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Starring: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis
Direction by Francis Lawrence
Language: English
I have been a 'Hunger Games' person for a while. I have read all the books, I have watched and obsessed over all the movies. However, I didn't read the book this movie was based on: how can a prequel even start to compete with a series that that I grew up to and loved? It was ultimately the fact that my cousins didn't want to see the Turkish movie 'Ataturk', nor 'Napoleon' that I was pressured into seeing this. After reading many scathing reviews (some of which went as far as to describe the very title to be 'cumbersome'), I will say that I did enjoy watching it very much.
Normally, I would trust what the big pop culture magazines have to say, but this is one of the times I would vehemently disagree. I think this movie was packed with action, dramatic sequences, and flare. It is very rarely that I yelp in a movie. And I yelped whilst watching this. Several times. I'm not one for action movies (as I have said repeatedly over the past few reviews), but I did think everything was constructed perfectly, whether it be the action scenes or the more romantic ones.
This was a little bit more demure that the other Hunger Games movies in the sense that the costuming was so-so. The extravagance of the Capitol didn't really come through in the styling: most characters were wearing 'smart' looking outfits: suits and simplistic dresses rather than the bright oranges and pinks of Effie Trinket's eccentric attire.
However, I do think the acting, contrary to popular opinion, was just fine. Tom Blyth was quite strong: I liked his portrayal of almost a fall from grace, from the child of a revered general to a hardened tyrant, desperate for revenge. It also helped that he was very attractive, but I digress.
Also, Rachel Zegler. I loved her in West Side Story, and I loved her equally in this (which is saying a lot, considering that WSS is one of my favourite movies to date). She brought the grace and charm that this movie did need - a sometimes welcome contrast to the hardness of Blyth's character.
But, unsurprisingly, Viola Davis was the strongest link in this. I've been a fan of hers since the early days of Annalise Keating in 'How to Get Away with Murder', and she never misses the mark. Her character as a psychotic, malicious woman was chilling and new in equal measure. I shudder to think of what will come to Hollywood when she retires. Nothing good, in my view.
One thing I will say, though, is that the pacing was a little off. The movie was split into three key sections, which was a good way of avoiding what had the potential to be very long, fleshed out transitions. However, every section felt like a whole movie in itself. As such, it did feel a little long to watch. In the original Hunger Games movies, the entire premise would draw on one thing: the games. But this took that to a new level by exploring the aftermath of the games: Coriolanus Snow's entire villain arc.
Overall, I thought this movie was very strong. I really, really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I will be rewatching it in the next few days. It really is worth a watch: I think the most prolific critics who critiqued this movie just got it wrong.
