Film Preview: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(June 12, 2022) Original
(April 30, 2023) New Trailer (#2)
(September 24, 2023) New Trailer (#3) — New Posters (#3-#10)
(November 12, 2023) New Trailer (#4) — New Posters (#11-#19)

Release Date:

November 17, 2023

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Coriolanus Snow mentors and develops feelings for the female District 12 tribute during the 10th Hunger Games.”

Poster Rating: B- / C+ / C+ (7) / B- / B- / B- (7) / C

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Review: (#1) It’s interesting how an image that uses only a single color for its motif can get so many interesting details out of the color of gold. It’s a well sculpted effort. (#2) Too little of the prior design’s motif is highlighted here and the figure of Snow looks a little too rigid, which might be fitting for the character, but doesn’t strike a compelling figure for the viewer.

(#3-#9) These character posters have some unique details, but feel like they were cobbled together too quickly and with limited thought. (#10) While it doesn’t have enough details to be exciting, it’s from a position that feels unique among modern poster designs and the golden aura shimmers sufficiently.

(#11) This poster design for the 10th Hunger Games is interesting in its color usage, but is a bit underdeveloped. (#12-#18) Mimicking the 10th games design for a square poster for each character is an interesting choice, but one that still feels a bit underwhelming. (#19) Back to the gold-white-and-red design aesthetic, the empty background may accentuate the foreground details, but it ultimately doesn’t look very interesting.

Trailer Rating: C- / B- / B- / C+

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Review: (#1) It’s a terrible idea to tease your fans with a trailer that only animates the logo. Thematic as it might seem, the end result, while gorgeously animated, is a disservice.

(#2) A return to the Hunger Games is an expected result of the writing of the prequel novel. The problem is that without the charisma of Jennifer Lawrence, our interest in the film must be tied to the main characters and with too little attention being paid to the new female lead and too much to the male lead make it difficult to find something of interest in the trailer.

(#3) This trailer gives lots of visual details for fans of the book and franchise, but feels like it’s trying to throw in every element it can to make the effort look exciting, without actually seeming that tense or engaging.

(#4) At some point, it should become obvious that a fourth trailer is overkill and that seems obvious with this effort. There’s not much here we haven’t already seen and building further excitement isn’t going to happen with this particular trailer as it lacks excitement and narrative impact.