{"id":53504,"date":"2023-11-13T00:05:38","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T00:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/13\/hunger-games-prequel-movie-enhances-original-trilogy-review\/"},"modified":"2023-11-13T00:05:38","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T00:05:38","slug":"hunger-games-prequel-movie-enhances-original-trilogy-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/13\/hunger-games-prequel-movie-enhances-original-trilogy-review\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Movie Enhances Original Trilogy: Review"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Murray Close\/Lionsgate<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes earns 3 stars (out of 4) from Us Weekly movie critic Mara Reinstein.<\/em><\/p>\n

In theory, The Hunger Games<\/a>: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes<\/em> does not have the odds ever in its favor.<\/p>\n

Not only has the franchise been absent from the moviegoing consciousness since 2015, it\u2019s a prequel. Shrug. The let\u2019s-see-how-we-came-to-be storyline didn\u2019t effectively fly for epics like Star Wars<\/em> or Lord of the Rings<\/em>. Why would revisiting the post-apocalyptic world of Panem result in a change for the better? We already know District 12 is doomed for decades. It\u2019s not like Jennifer Lawrence<\/strong><\/a> is going pop up playing the long-lost ancestor of Katniss Everdeen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The twist is that The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes<\/em> doesn\u2019t need Lawrence or a Hemsworth<\/a>, as the young adult dystopian drama succeeds on its own merits. Based on Suzanne Collins<\/strong>\u2019 2020 novel, this is a well-crafted and entertaining narrative enhanced by character development rarely pulled off in big-budget extravaganzas. Perhaps most impressive at all, it even boosts the pop culture legacy of the original saga.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re dropped off at the 10th annual Hunger Games, in which two youngsters from each of Panem\u2019s districts are still chosen at random to fight to the death on TV. The female representative from lowly District 12 is Lucy Gray Baird<\/a> (Rachel Zegler<\/strong><\/a> of West Side Story<\/em>), a traveling musician who makes a spectacle of herself at the reaping ceremony by tossing a snake down the back of a snobby rival and then belting out a defiant anthem. Tasked to be her mentor: A teen named Coriolanus Snow (British actor Tom Blyth<\/strong>). He\u2019ll ultimately rule the land as a tyrannical president. For now, he\u2019s a strapping teen student determined to help Lucy Gray so he can win a coveted cash prize and go to a university. He carries a white rose. For friendly purposes!<\/p>\n

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Murray Close\/Lionsgate<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The story is broken down into specific sections \u2014 and for the most part, its structure goes according to plan. At first, Lucy is wary of the upper-crust \u201cCorio.\u201d But the two soon grow closer. And though Corio is instructed by the creator of the Games (Peter Dinklage<\/strong><\/a>) to not cheat as a form of strategy, he\u2019s willing to go to extremes for his prot\u00e9g\u00e9e. Blyth\u2019s presence is so intriguing that we\u2019re unsure if he rebels because of his ruthless desire to snag the money or because he has genuine affection for the beautiful and scrappy Lucy Gray. For that matter, Dinklage\u2019s presence is so intimidating that we believe him when he says there will be consequences if anyone is caught breaking the rules.<\/p>\n

Spoiler . . . there are.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>\u2018The Hunger Games\u2019 Cast: Where Are They Now?<\/a>
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\n\t\t\tThe odds were in their favor! While some stars fall flat after their big breaks, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth have moved on from the\u00a0Hunger Games\u00a0franchise with success. Based on author Suzanne Collins\u2019 young adult books of the same name, 2012\u2019s\u00a0The Hunger Games, 2013\u2019s\u00a0The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 2014\u2019s\u00a0The Hunger Games: Mockingjay \u2014 [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As for those Hunger Games, the inevitable set piece is a bit of a suspenseful letdown. After watching Katniss and her competitors go at it for years, there\u2019s no longer a horrifying shock value in the concept of kids ruthlessly killing each other. (To be fair: Amid our reality TV-dominated universe, Collins has tried to underline this point in her books.) Once again, the bullies from the richer districts are the main antagonists; little silver parachutes filled with goodies emerge from the sky as salvation; and our heroine finds herself in peril and uses her quick-wits to survive. Been there, done all that.<\/p>\n

The unfolding drama is at least visually interesting. During this particular time in Panem, the Tributes must survive in a primitive low-fi arena that keeps the battles front and center. Meanwhile, everyone watches the action on retro 70s-era TVs. The Capitol itself is more sterile authoritarian than post-apocalyptic glam. All the above is a good thing \u2014 at 158 minutes, moviegoers might as well be treated with top-rate and expensive-looking production values. (Could more songs have been excised in the editing process? Um, yeah. Zegler has the chops, but we\u2019re not here for The Hunger Games: The Concert<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

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That extended run time also means The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes<\/em> doesn\u2019t end with a Tribute emerging victorious. And this is where the film truly stands apart from its peers.<\/p>\n

Consider that prequels tend to consistently disappoint because the stakes are nil. Obi-Wan Kenobi will grow to be an old man, just like Gandalf the Wizard\u2019s physical body won\u2019t die. Obviously, young Corio will not visit the oft-used guillotine for any infractions in the third act so he can turn into white-haired Donald Sutherland. Instead, the character\u2019s moral compass deconstructs via fascinating increments. It helps that he has the ultimate snake whispering in his ear in the form of Viola Davis<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 sinister Head Gamemaker. The actress won\u2019t win an award for this performance, but she commits to scenery-chewing in the most delicious of ways.<\/p>\n

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