In 2012, the world was introduced to The Hunger Games, a film based on the novel of the same name written by Suzanne Collins. The film quickly became a massive hit, winning over millions of fans worldwide. Sequels soon followed, creating a franchise that gained fame for its intense survival battles and thought-provoking social commentary.
However, as time passed, interest in the franchise started to wane. The latest installment in the series came out in 2015, and, nearly a decade later in 2023, another film set in the familiar universe hits the screens once again. Has the new Hunger Games managed to live up to audience expectations, surprise us, and, overall, was it worthwhile to revisit this fantasy story that made such a splash in the 2010s? Let’s find out in this article.
The idea
In 2020, Suzanne Collins, who gave the world the main teen novel of the 2010s, The Hunger Games, released a prequel about the antagonist of the franchise, President Snow. Collins is not the first to decide to continue expanding her work by writing the story of a villain. The difference between the writer’s approach is that she doesn’t want to justify the villain, as many before her did, but to continue the philosophical quest of the Hunger Games. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Snow is the steward of his life, through his development, Suzanne Collins studies the nature of the human soul, where darkness and light coexist. The portrait of President Snow is made extremely well, as if we have a questionnaire compiled on https://www.dating.com in front of us. We feel both hatred and sympathy towards the character.
Attention to the Inner World
Another feature of the Ballad is the small number of action scenes. The Tenth Hunger Games were one of the most boring in history, with almost half of the tributes killed before the battle even began. Therefore, in the book, the author gives place to the thoughts of the main character, his mental games and attempts to save his family. In the film adaptation, it turned out to be more difficult to pay as much attention to Snow’s inner world. The film jumps from scene to scene, clinging and inflating those fragments of the book in which there is at least some action. In this regard, after the release of the film, there were a large number of negative reviews, which indicated that this was a film constantly rushing from one scene to the next, as if afraid that the viewer would get bored.
References to the Known Universe
One of the main advantages of the film is that it allows fans of The Hunger Games to immerse themselves in the world again, relive already forgotten emotions, and remember their favorite characters. The film also introduces new characters, allowing fans to learn more about them. The creators have left behind a number of references for fans to discover, such as the fact that one of the students at the Capitol Academy is named Hilary Heavensby, who is obviously a descendant of the original Hunger Games character Plutarch Heavensby. Among the weapons on the arena floor, a bow and arrow can be seen, symbols of Katniss Everdeen weaponry. Lucy Grey makes a gesture similar to Katniss’s in one scene, and a song that was played in previous films by Jennifer Lawrence is heard several times.
Final Thoughts
The film adaptation of such a large-scale work is not an easy task, and there are quite a lot of negative features in the film, which are highlighted by both the audience and professional critics. However, it is worth watching the film, at least to immerse yourself in the utopia of the Hunger Games and observe the mutual relationships of charismatic actors.