A disappointing adaptation of a beloved book, with significant omissions and changes that detract from the story's impact.

Directed by: Francis Lawerence

"Snow always lands on top."

Corolanius Snow (Tom Blyth) offers a rose to Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler) at the station in 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Spoilers ahead...

The Rise of Corionalus Snow to President Snow

It's the origin story of the villain President Snow, going back to the 10th Hunger Games, a time when Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) was desperate to get good grades just to serve Panem. He is tasked with mentoring District 12 girl, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), and if he does well, he can win the Plinth prize, which would be a step towards his dream to serve Panem.


A Series Over a Movie: A Missed Opportunity

I must have said it before too, 90% of the time, great novels are tough to convert into great movies for one reason—the runtime. A reason why I wonder, wouldn't it be great if the authors of these books allowed only series to be made and not films, especially in today's times when we have so many OTT platforms. However, there are exceptions, such as the Hindi movie Kai Po Che, which is an adaptation of the book "3 Mistakes of My Life" and stands as one of the best on-screen adaptations.

Book vs. Movie: How Faithful is the Adaptation?

Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) holds a card revealing mentor assignments in 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

First things first, I totally loved the book and have enjoyed all the previous three books too. When it comes to movies, I have always felt they lacked the detailing and the same impact or emotions the books had. This new movie, however, was a bigger disappointment because all the core moments of the book are totally cut away from the movie. We never see 'the control' feel Coryo always has through those class sessions involving Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) or Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage). Even the laboratory snakes sequence is altered, removing the dramatic effect it would have otherwise had. And we never get to see a single scene of Clemensia after that, which is again such a poor decision. They changed the entire scene where Coryo thinks of suicide; in the book, you could sense he was actually close to doing it (even though you know being a prequel he won't), but in the movie, it felt like he was saying it for the sake of it.

If I had to choose one part that works closest to the book, then it would be the second chapter of 'The Prize,' minus that unnecessary change of asking Gaul to save Lucy Gray Baird. Again, it's a change that works against the movie. The love story of Coryo and Lucy isn't well established either, with one of Lucy's songs cut away, in fact, two of them. They do use 'Hanging Tree' very well, but I can't say the same for the main track, and they chose to totally delete 'Keep on the Sunny Side.' My favorite track ‘Can’t Catch Me Now’, however, is used in the end credits. They might have used some visuals along with it to make it more catchy and appealing as it is. In fact, the third chapter feels so rushed in comparison to the first and second that you could totally sense that the director wants to keep the runtime in check, not caring about how it's affecting the flow of the narration.

Corionalius Snow and Sejanus Plinth Friendship

Sejanus Plinth interrupts a debate on Hunger Games' morality as Coriolanus Snow listens in 'The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'

They even chopped away all the parts where Coryo meets Sejanus Plinth's (Josh Andres Rivera) parents, which establish how Coryo believes he is closer to his mom when actually his actions are similar to his dad. The entire Coryo-Sejanus friendship also never comes across, almost making Coryo look very cold-hearted, when in reality, he was always in a dilemma.

Lucy Gray Baird and Corionalus Snow Lake Scene

I liked the lake sequence, again not as good as the book, but it still had the chilling feeling to it, and so does the final scene of Coryo with his cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer), where you can see how she no longer cares for him as she calls him by his full name. The use of the 'Snow Lands on Top' background theme is done very well too, ending with the famous line of 'It's the things we love most that destroy us.' If only what leads to this dialogue was extremely likable, but for book lovers like me, you could connect the dots and like what the reference is.

Tom Blyth's Take on President Snow

Thanks to all the mentioned flaws and issues the movie has, not one performance stays with you after the end. It would have been easier to judge if the movie stayed fully faithful to the book. I still felt Tom Blyth did pretty well, and if he was given the chance to show more layers of Coryo, he would have succeeded.

Final Verdict on The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Overall, the movie has bits and pieces to like, but if you have read the book, you would be terribly disappointed. For those who haven't read the book, they might struggle fully to connect with the movie.

Having said that, I am looking forward to the new book that covers the 50th Hunger Games. Hopefully, there will be some references made regarding Lucy in that, unless they do it from the point of view of Haysmith, then we may not get that.

Rating : 5/10

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