Hunger Games: * * * * ½ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

As mentioned in a previous review I have never read any of the books from which this series is adapted.  My whole experience with The Hunger Games franchise has been cinematic.  It has also been very positive.

I thought the series had been wrapped up with the last film so I was surprised (and a little annoyed) when this came along.  Do they really expect us to accept another Katniss other than Jennifer Lawrence? 

In the beginning...

Actually they don't, as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel.  Set sixty four years before, when things were bad but nowhere near as bad as in the first film which showed us the degenerate misery in the dystopian world of Panem.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes tells the story of Coriolanus Snow who was the president of Panem in the previous films.  Now we see him as a young aspiring party member and we witness his degeneration from a kind and benevolent mentor to a corrupt opportunist. And the events that motivated him to become that way.

Once again directed by Francis Lawrence (thankfully), it's a stunning looking film with images adapted from Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, the Roman Empire, 1984 style Proletariats, and tired unwashed miners, with all their "romantic" poverty, including their songs.  

Someone who sings these songs is a coal miner's daughter from "District Twelve". With her oversized guitar, her cowgirl boots and her sassy attitude she is quite the uppity girl, and a fair match for Katniss.  Her name is Lucy Gray and she is the one chosen as a tribute for the fatal Hunger Games. The young Coriolanus Snow is to be her mentor.

I've never been a fan of fantasy but I've always admired this series because the people are very real. They have no supernatural powers or skills.   Yes, many of the characters are extreme in their mania, but their emotions are believable.  They are not like the shallow cartoonish, superpowered Marvel characters.  

In this film, Panem is a different place. Not as advanced as the one we see in the previous film, and the arena in which they must fight is crude and brutal.

With it's overwhelming imagery, fascinating array of characters, and desperate situations, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is easily as good as any other in this remarkable series.