The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I welcomed the return to the world of The Hunger Games after eight years, although it is true that the ending of the original trilogy (or tetralogy) suffered to some extent from the third book being split into two films. I hadn’t read the book this time, so I was curious to see what kind of story I would be dealing with. I liked that the plot focused on the birth or formation of the character of Snow, and I commend the casting of Tom Blyth, who managed this transition from relatively innocent to rather psychopathic one in a believable way. Rachel Zegler cut a similar figure to her role in the previous year's West Side Story and I quite enjoyed (not only) her musical numbers. The development of the relationship between Snow and Lucy Grey had a really strong charge, initially sweet, then chilling. The diabolical Viola Davis and the ambiguous Peter Dinklage only confirmed their acting qualities, and I was delighted with the smaller role of Fionnula Flanagan. Throughout the film, you can't help but compare it to Nazi Germany (I liked the scenes from the "remade" Battle of the Nations Memorial in Leipzig), and it was interesting to see how The Hunger Games was conceived in its early days – in the "humble" bowels of a reinforced concrete monster - P.S. "It's the things we love most, that destroy us." (21/11/2023)

The prequel to The Hunger Games isn't a bad movie, it has its bright moments, but the actual Hunger Games, which should have been the main highlight are unfortunately not as engrossing as I expected. The 10th Hunger Games begins. Each of the students becomes a mentor and gets one assigned from each region and their job is to win the Hunger Games together. The main character is the likeable Coriolanus Snow, who gets a girl, and underdog, who can only sing. I liked the chemistry between them, Rachel Zegler is a very beautiful woman (and sings very nice), the emotions and romance work and these two pull the film up nicely. Of the characters, Peter Dinklage is also a great. Visually, of course, the film is on par, and even though it doesn't have a very thrilling pace, it certainly doesn't get boring, and the Hunger Games are quite thrilling, it's just a pity that there aren’t more traps, challenges and pitfalls. It's kind of Battle Royale style but without the gore, so I didn't get much excitement. There's not much action outside of the game itself, but it's quite imaginative and clever (the decisions Snow makes are pretty cool), it's just a shame that the main character doesn't fight at all. The second half surprisingly turns into a completely different movie and we watch Snow's interesting character development undergoing a really interesting and unexpected transformation. There are more songs than action for my taste, but they were at least enjoyable to listen to. All in all, an enjoyable film that I don't regret watching, but nothing that would make me sit on my ass. I have it between 3 and 4 stars, but I'll be more strict this time. I don't need to see it again. 65%. (03/12/2023)