I’m going to be honest: I probably wouldn’t have seen this film if someone didn’t ask me to go, and if I hadn’t just watched “The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire” because a certain someone wanted to see Josh Hutcherson (cough cough Haley Williams cough cough).
But here we are; I have seen “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” and honestly, it was a pretty enjoyable experience! I didn’t really know what to expect going into it, as I only knew that it focused on the origin story of President Snow and the 10th Hunger Games. Without focusing on the broader story of Panem, it’s actually a really good story, but I still have a few complaints.
First, the film felt way too heavy-handed at times in the ways that it tried to connect to the original “Hunger Games” trilogy. Lucy Gray’s bow after being picked for the Hunger Games was almost the same as the one Katniss uses after shooting the apple from the pig’s mouth in the original. This took me right out of the story, even though both performed in some sense of the word. But also — swamp potato having the nickname “Katniss”? Come on, you weren’t even trying with that one… Having Lucy Gray be the origin of “The Hanging Tree” makes sense, but it still felt like a bit much. It connects to why the song is “forbidden,” but I feel like this tries a little too hard to draw connections between Lucy Gray and Katniss.
Secondly, I’m not a huge fan of the “girl from District 12 destroys Snow’s life” deal that this movie has going on. Sure it’s a “full circle” kind of story, and it puts a certain “oh my God so that’s why Snow hates District 12” spin on the “The Hunger Games” trilogy, but I feel like there could have been something more done with this that focused on the relationships of all 12 districts with the capital rather than just another story about District 12. I will note the movie adaptation was already approaching three hours in length, and I feel like a deeper exploration would have warranted a much longer movie and book.
I will say, though, that what this movie did well, it did well. I was genuinely horrified when Arachne got stabbed in the throat with a glass bottle. I felt all of the violent parts were really well done, along with the quietly tragic parts, like “tuberculous on legs” drinking the poisoned water. The movie (and “The Hunger Games” franchise as a whole) does a great job of making you root for the protagonist, even when they have to do horrible things to survive.
Despite not being a huge fan of a District 12-centric story, I have to say that I was a huge fan of the relationship between Snow and Lucy Gray. Did Snow just get his life ruined by a two-week situationship? Absolutely. Did Snow also have his little “reputation” moment when he said he killed his old self? Absolutely. Should Lucy Gray have run when she caught Snow in a lie? Absolutely. “A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” does all the right things to crush your heart as we see this messy pairing fall apart.
This movie is definitely worth a watch, and doesn’t really require any knowledge from the other Hunger Games stories — the connections are more of an “added bonus.” Would I watch this movie again? Probably not for at least another two years. Did I enjoy it, though? I can certainly say I did.
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