Eight years on from the last Hunger Games movie comes this origin offering that's essentially Portrait of the Dictator as a Young Man, set 64 years before the first Dystopian instalment.
Here, we get to see the events that put 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) on the path to becoming President Snow (Donald Sutherland in the other movies). Central to his story is Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). She is one of the new group of unfortunates rounded up to take part in the televised survival of the fittest that gives the franchise its name.
Snow becomes her mentor, but self-seeking soon turns into something more. Question is, will that last?
Setting the scene with needs-must cannibalism, this adaptation of Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins' 2020 source novel looks to have something about it for new arrivals to the series, only to lose its way with the poor pacing, overstuffed duration, and dud third act.
Essentially, this film would have worked better if it was an hour and a half, ending with the coliseum showdown between The Hunger Games participants. But it goes on (and on), cramming loads more IP in - with none of it as exciting as the earlier fight scenes. Splitting the drama in two and having a stronger second part down the line should have been the way to go for returning director Francis Lawrence.
Blythe, while decent in the role of prototyrant, is too old to be playing 18 - he's late 20s in real life. His co-star Zegler, who received her big break in Spielberg's West Side Story, makes for a convincing hero, but looks too clean in a Pat Benetar-style, Love is a Battlefield-recalling outfit for someone who's meant to be barely hanging on.
Zegler also gets to sing here and while you can't imagine Mel Gibson launching into, say, The Changing of the Guards in any Mad Max movie, the music ultimately proves the most memorable part of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
There's a key line towards the end about "the price people are willing to pay for a good show". Save your money.
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