New Hunger Games prequel was worth the eight-year franchise wait

The original Hunger Games films made almost $3 billion at the global box office – eight years later, the franchise is back.

Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Photo Credit: Murray Close

The Hunger Games is so back.

Eight years after Jennifer Lawrence hung up Katniss Everdeen’s bow and arrow for good, a new generation of tributes is headed to the arena in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

This prequel film — based on the 2020 novel by Suzanne Collins, headed to cinemas November 16 — tells the origin story of Hunger Games villain President Snow. And, much like the first films, it’s a gripping tale of survival, romance, class, and war. If you love The Hunger Games, this is absolutely the movie for you.

Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Photo Credit: Murray Close

While it’s not a must to have seen the first four films to understand Songbirds, it’s helpful to have the context of the world. We meet our future villain, Cornelius Snow, as a young, starving child. His once-wealthy family has been ruined by the war between the haves (the Capitol) and the have-nots (the Districts).

Fast-forward to Cornelius as an 18-year-old, who is struggling to keep up appearances of wealth. He intends to pull his family out of poverty via a “golden ticket” academic scholarship at school — only to have the rug pulled out from under him when the school’s dean announces that, actually, this year the scholarship will be given to the student who can serve as the best mentor to a tribute in the tenth annual Hunger Games.

Ah, the games. Critics can eschew Collins for borrowing from Battle Royale all they want, but the fact remains that she created a vivid, specific, and compelling world that I never tire of returning to. Songbirds gets off to a somewhat clunky start, with a bit too much “Thank you, cousin” and “Save the food for Gran-mam,” expository dialogue from screenwriters Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt. But as soon as Peter Dinklage announced the new games, I settled into my seat, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and prepared myself to be entertained. I wasn’t disappointed.

The new film is set decades before the events of the original movies. Photo Credit: Murray Close

Tom Blyth, a relative newcomer previously seen in the Epix series Billy the Kid, should prepare to become the object of adoration for a new generation of Hunger Games fans. He’s giving Hayden Christensen as Anakin in the best way — a vulnerable pretty boy with a flame of darkness burning in him.

He won’t particularly remind you of Donald Sutherland’s Snow, whose anger was quiet and contained; all of Blyth’s emotions — from desperation to pain, to love, to his own rage — are plain on his face. But it’s fitting for this young, ambitious version of Snow, and it’s a perfect match for the calm, virtuous aura of Rachel Zegler, who plays Cornelius’s love interest, Lucy Gray.

Lucy Gray, the tribute that Cornelius has been assigned to mentor, is technically from District 12, but, as she explains in the film, is actually a member of a nomadic group of people known as the Covey, who were forced to settle in the area after the war. (Colonialism!) Lucy Gray has all of Katniss Everdeen’s rebellious spirit, but Zegler adds her own flavour.

Where Katniss was cool and distant, Lucy is warm and bubbly. She’s a free-spirited folk singer, complete with a gorgeous voice that Zegler previously showcased as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, and will soon show off again in Disney’s live-action Snow White remake.

But it’s the chemistry that Zegler shares with Blyth that will ensure you’ll be unable to look away from the screen, as the movie hurdles into a tale of doomed star-crossed lovers.

Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth share a great chemistry as star-crossed lovers. Picture: Murray Close

As with the films before it, director Francis Lawrence — who’s helmed all the Hunger Games movies since 2013’s Catching Fire — fills out the supporting cast with acclaimed Hollywood veterans, most notably casting Oscar-winner Viola Davis as the prequel’s villain, head game maker Dr. Volumnia Gaul. It could not be more clear that Davis is having the time of her life up there, with one piercing blue eye, a wild afro of Gray hair, and brightly coloured garments. She’s hamming it up as the sadistic mad scientist (“I’ve broken free from my laboratory today,” she informs a crowd with an unhinged grin). It’s just as much fun to watch as I imagine it was for Davis to play.

Jason Schwartzman — who’s already had a big year with Asteroid City and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — also gets to have some fun, stepping into Stanley Tucci’s shoes as the Games’ narcissistic, first-ever host, Lucky Flickerman. His impeccable delivery paired with his cartoonish expressions are welcome comic reprieves from the otherwise grim tone.

Hunger Games stars (L-R) Tom Blyth, Hunter Schafer, Rachel Zegler and Jose Andres Rivera at the film’s London premiere. Picture: Getty

Lawrence includes familiar touchstones from the franchise’s production design, like a colour palette of grays and dusty brown, peppered with deep reds and rich golds, but with enough tweaks to make this prequel — which takes place 64 years before the events of the first movie — feel like its own unique story. The arena for the games is not yet the sprawling, sophisticated, technological marvel it is in the original 2012 film directed by Gary Ross; here, it’s an unglamorous, broken-down stadium. Yet the camera pans, swings, and pivots in a way that makes it feel epic all the same. Editor Mark Yoshikawa keeps a lively pace, ensuring that the film rarely drags (despite its 158-minute runtime).

That said, the film is split into three distinct sections, and while the first two acts deliver in spades, the last third is a bit of a mess. Clearly rushing to cram in details from a 528-page novel, Lawrence basically forgoes all artistry for the movie’s final 15 minutes, in favour of having the story’s characters info-dump plot. It’s sure to leave viewers who skipped the book reeling, if not downright confused. And it left a bad taste in my mouth, slightly souring an otherwise great Hunger Games film.

Still, Songbirds is the best Hunger Games film since Catching Fire, thanks largely to a new talented young cast and a compelling story that is sure to satisfy old fans while also bringing new ones into the fold. Unlike the original series, Songbirds doesn’t necessarily feel like the launch of a new franchise. Collins, at least, has made no indication that her prequel novel is anything more than a stand-alone character study and cautionary tale. Still, there are plenty more Games that could have their stories told… If there is a hunger from the audience.

This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as New Hunger Games prequel was worth the eight-year franchise wait