In Panem, the 12 districts work to serve the Capitol, each providing a different resource. District 1, for example, supplies luxury items, while 12 contributes coal. To punish the districts for a previous and failed rebellion, the Capitol government set up an annual event in which two tributes, one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18, are plucked from each district and thrown into an arena to fight to the death in the Hunger Games.
The dystopian world Suzanne Collins paints in her novel trilogy is absolutely captivating- you find yourself getting really immersed in the world of The Hunger Games. Collins abilities in world and character building really shine in the great amount of detail in her books. Her latest installment, the prequel following a young President Coriolanus Snow, proves to be no different, harboring more than 3.5 million copies published in North America. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes was released in May of 2020, and by April it was announced that plans were underway for the film adaptation’s development.
The movie debuted in theaters on November 17, 2023 in the US, giving rise to pretty great reviews, including a 66% from Rotten Tomatoes, an 89% audience score, and a 7.2/10 from IMDb. The film has created a strong buzz of positive response from long time Hunger Games fans, and returning from directing The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2, Francis Lawrence does an incredible job directing this film. Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler play the two lead roles spectacularly, and the rest of the cast line up including but not limited to Viola Davis, Josh Andres Rivera, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, and Peter Dinklage are fantastic.
There have been little critiques on the picture, many of them claiming that the 2 hour and 38 minute film could’ve even been longer, especially since so much happens in the 500 page novel. There has been rumor of an uncut version that runs for 3 hours and 40 minutes, and fans have even started a petition to release it. However, it is likely that this was just a directors cut, or a rough draft that isn’t as fleshed out as the shorter official version. There are definitely a lot of details in the books that weren’t able to transfer to the movie, and a lot of scenes had small changes made to them or were just cut out entirely. I think that reading the book before the movie for sure made the film a bit of a better experience, but it’s definitely not required to watch or enjoy the film.
The movie is still great, however, and definitely worth the watch. If you haven’t read any of the Hunger Games books or seen the movies, I sincerely recommend it. It really is a great franchise that still holds up even 14 years later.
