Overall a pleasing prequel. Set 64 years before the first Hunger Games of Katniss Everdeen, the film charts the rise of a teenage Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) on his way to becoming President of Panem. The film is set closer to the time of the first rebellion by the Districts against the Capitol. Snow's father, a General fighting for the Capitol in a feudal Panem has recently died as . The family falls from grace and power and Coriolanus sets about reviving the family's status and fortunes.
As an 18 year-old Academy student, Snow is selected to mentor District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) in the 10th annual Hunger Games which are suffering a ratings slump. The games' creator Casca Highbottom (Peter Drinklage) is anxious to revive the popularity of the spectacle and offers both encouragement and sadistic twists to Snow and the other mentors.
In a dystopian world that is increasingly mirroring our own, the Hunger Games play out with Snow closely involved in the Games and at times actually appearing in the arena. His mentee, tribute Lucy Gray Baird, is a free-spirited songstress who charms viewers by her singing during the reaping ceremony. The Games proceed with the usual violence and spilling of blood under the direction of scary head gamemaker Dr Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davies).
Lucy Gray is depicted as a 'type' of Katniss Everdeen - she is her own woman, charming and beautiful with an inherent distrust of all but her own own people. She is resourceful, kind and compassionate - an underdog that everybody roots for. As the story unfolds, in a very lumpy and inconsistent way, Snow is shown to be ever the ruthless opportunist who will use everyone and everything to his advantage to advance his power and status.
Fans of the franchise will probably be satisfied with this offering with the Hanging Tree motif linking it with the earlier trilogy. The end certainly leaves the door open for further explorations and with the box office bringing in over $250m in the first two weeks of release, the film has already recouped the estimated production budget of $100m. This film could have been a lot worse - but then it could also have been a lot better. The strong points are Drinklage's performance which gives the film gravitas and Zegler's singing. I'll give it 7/10.
