{"id":46611,"date":"2023-11-18T01:18:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T01:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wegotthiscovered.com\/?p=1626832"},"modified":"2023-11-18T01:18:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T01:18:00","slug":"review-strange-things-did-happen-here-the-hunger-games-the-ballad-of-songs-and-snakes-made-me-nostalgic-for-ya-dystopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/18\/review-strange-things-did-happen-here-the-hunger-games-the-ballad-of-songs-and-snakes-made-me-nostalgic-for-ya-dystopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Strange things did happen here\u2026 \u2018The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songs and Snakes\u2019 made me nostalgic for YA dystopia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eight years after The Hunger Games<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>finale, director Francis Lawrence<\/strong> returns to the director\u2019s chair for the fifth and final entry. Lawrence apparently absorbed all types of critical feedback, because The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes<\/a><\/strong><\/em> presents the series at its most confident and comprehensive.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Set 64 years before the trilogy, this prequel to Suzanne Collins\u2019s sensational young adult dystopia unravels Coriolanus Snow\u2019s descent into tyranny<\/a>, of the ruthful choices that would one day lead to his presidency of Panem. It\u2019s the perfect character to explore the war-torn Capitol, desperately clinging to a snake\u2019s grip on all 13 districts.<\/p>\n

As a struggling Capitol native, an 18-year-old Coriolanus struggles to maintain the facade that his family remains in high standing, unlike the rest of his privileged, uppity classmates. Upon announcement of the 10th Hunger Games, Snow and his class are tasked with the unenviable job of mentoring that year\u2019s tributes. When Coryo is assigned Lucy Gray Baird, a rebellious District 12 nomad, this tees up the construction of the world we know through Katniss Everdeen\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

From tone to setting, Ballad of Songs and Snakes<\/em> nails the responsibility of a prequel\u2019s relationship to its original source material. All hats off to Collins<\/a>, who developed a fascinating, deeply complex protagonist, arguably the most despised in the series \u2014 and one with whom the audience shouldn\u2019t necessarily want to empathize. But the cast and crew depict Panem in the world\u2019s most impressive depth, compared to its past theatrical counterparts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the set designs to the location scouting, Ballad of Songs and Snakes <\/em>depicts worldbuilding at its finest. In particular, designer Trish Summerville\u2019s attention to the Capitol\u2019s genderless, retro-futuristic fashion sense absolutely nails the series\u2019s most prominent theme: Morality in the wake of spectacle. While still posh, the Capitol operates in post-war recovery mode; the city\u2019s still under construction, and so too is the political society\u2019s understanding of social control through glamour and spectacle (one morbidly hilarious example is Jason Schwartzman\u2019s amateur weatherman, Lucretius Flickerman). As a result, Summerville opts for drab, dark reds and gaunt greys, rather than the flamboyant explosion of colors and excessive makeup seen in the trilogy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The
Image via Lionsgate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the other hand, the one character adorned in color is none other than Lucy Gray Baird, the beacon of hope for a society teetering on the edge. Lucy Gray is the stand-in for an alternative reality; one where the struggling Hunger Games fail to capture an audience, and where the Capitol loses. But the audience already knows the future; the government devours Gray\u2019s color, retooling its purpose not for rebellion, but for complacency. The details in this film are a wonder.<\/p>\n

Split into three acts, at two hours and 37 minutes, Songbirds and Snakes<\/em> mostly earns its runtime. Two-thirds of the film presents a nail-biting thriller, delivering the Hunger Games brutality, aka half the reason audiences show up. The last act, however, loses steam, feeling more like an epilogue that started far too early. Lawrence attempts to tie up every loose end within a single, digestible movie. Act 3 simultaneously lingers around fan service \u2014 both baity and awesome \u2014 yet speedruns through major plot beats at the expense of consistent pacing.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s still well worth sticking around. As previous districts are re-introduced in a new era, Ballad of Songs and Snakes <\/em>is an example of a franchise director intent on upping his game one last time. You can feel Lawrence\u2019s mastery of the world, perhaps even executing upon the past criticisms surrounding uneven representation. From rural nightlife, to the grittiness of coal mining, to gorgeous lake houses, the director\u2019s world-building skills truly catch fire, right down to the intentional dialects of district natives.<\/p>\n

However, one glaring element disrupts the detailed portrait: Rachel Zegler<\/a> as Lucy Gray. To be clear, I don\u2019t condone any nasty online rhetoric targeting Zegler. In fact, as a new actress on the scene, West Side Story <\/em>is proof of her undeniable talent<\/a>. This particular casting decision, however, appears to fall on the laurels of Zegler\u2019s singing credentials. She belts a damn fine tune, yet at the risk of overcompensating for skills the actor isn\u2019t quite ready to harness. <\/p>\n

\"Coriolanus
Image via Lionsgate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a young actor, Zegler hasn\u2019t yet mastered the raw intensity required for the role. There are two sides to Lucy Gray Baird\u2019s character; the aura of a princess doomed to a tragic fate, which Zegler nails, as if using this role to prep for Snow White<\/em>. And then there\u2019s the fierce, sharp-edged rebellious attitude that should cut her foes like a knife, and Zegler doesn\u2019t have it. Facial expressions feel forced, the Southern dialect sounds off, and it\u2019s too immersion-breaking when you constantly see the actor, but not the character. Considering Lucy Gray is the<\/em> specter across the entire series<\/a>, there\u2019s so much pressure here, and even if Zegler feels miscast, she\u2019s still on the road toward improvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To be fair, Zegler isn\u2019t the only distracting element. Fellow West Side Story <\/em>alum Josh Andr\u00e9s Rivera delivers an inconsistent performance as Sejanus Plinth, a character wracked with the guilt of his own privilege. Tense scenes oftentimes veer towards the unintentionally insincere, and at times remind the audience of the hokier young adult genre stereotypes. Of course, Hunger Games<\/em> is YA, but when the majority of the movie supersedes the CW angst,\u00a0 it\u2019s hard to overlook.<\/p>\n

One talent to watch for is Coriolanus himself, Juilliard graduate Tom Blythe, who hard-carries the film. Blythe showcases the sincerity, naivety, and menace of a hero turned villain, but truly disturbs during his fateful descent; played with an ominous closeness to any of the latest, deranged American mass shooters infecting the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rachel
Image via Lionsgate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is an actor I kept wondering where I\u2019d seen before, only to learn of his emerging talent \u2014 and it\u2019s a testament to an actor\u2019s presence, to feel in his first giant role like he\u2019s already part of the Hollywood establishment. Whether Blythe pursues more franchise entertainment in the new, or leverages his talents with more selectiveness, the way of Jacob Elordi<\/a>, Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/a>, or Austin Butler<\/a>, (or chooses both!), like Zegler, Blythe is the next actor on the rise, who you\u2019re bound to hear more from soon.<\/p>\n

Despite uneven pacing and inconsistent acting, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes <\/em>is a triumphant prequel, and the most impressive depiction of Panem \u2014 one representative of a director firing on all cylinders. If you\u2019re nostalgic for the dystopian YA craze of the late aughts and early 2010\u2019s like I am, then it’s worth revisiting the Hanging Tree one last time.<\/p>\n\n

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True story: Katniss Everdeen taught me how to 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