Experience the story of 'The Hunger Games'--64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem. This particular story follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray's charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.
Others to round out the cast are Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, Peter Dinklage as Dean Casca Highbottom, Fionnula Flanagan as Grandma am, Jason Schwartzman as Incretius "Lucky" Flickerman, Josh Andrew Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, Burn Garman as Commander Hoff and Ashley Liao as Clemensia Dovecote.
This was directed with the same feel as the other films of this franchise by Francis Laurence ("Gotham" (TV movie) '96, "Constantine" '05, "I Am Legend" '07, "Water for Elephants" '11, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" '13, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 1" '14, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2" '15, "Red Sparrow" '18,"Slumberland" '22) plus TV, a short, a video and a plethora of music videos. It was clearly strategic to be able to hire Laurence to direct this considering his already experience with this franchise (check out the resume), so a similar feel was present within the franchise, even though there were different actors in this installment. The intensity rose at a realistic pace and the staging by these actors was implemented well--this all helps having consistency in the directing. It was well written by Michael Lesslie ("Capture Anthologies: The Dimensions of Self" (segment--"Airlock or see how to say goodbye in space") '11, "Macbeth" '15, "Assassin's Creed" '16) plus TV and shorts and Michael Arndt ("Little Miss Sunshine" '06, "Toy Story 3" '10, "Oblivion" '13, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" '13, "A Walk in the Woods" '15, "Inside Out" (additional material) '15, "Star Wars: Episode VII--The Force Awakens" '15) plus video games and a video, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. I went to see this film with great trepidation since I'm not overly fond of this franchise. But after viewing it, I was quite surprised, especially since the running time is the better part of two and three quarter hours. Other than a couple of very small places of slowness and sequencing issues, this was a well honed script. The running time could've been shaved approximately 20 minutes and still offer the same impact of the story.
Certainly, if you are a fan of this franchise, you'll revel with this. It definitely leaves the audience with an open-ended story, so a sequel could be in the making assuming the film profits. I know, what a shock! The character development was very well thought out and the chemistry between Blyth and Zegler was powerful and intense. Also Davis as Dr. Gail was a hoot and exemplifies the quality of this wonderful actor. If you're on the fence about this, it is surely worthy of the price of admission.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 157mins.
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