We return to Panem with a list of all the Hunger Games movies ranked from worst to best, including The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
There truly is no better time to be a Hunger Games fan. Catching Fire came out ten years ago but the Hunger Games series is far from being in our past. With its social commentary being more relevant and significant than ever and a new film in the franchise, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, coming out in theaters just this year, the Hunger Games series is still alive and well. What better time, then, to look at the entire series? Here’s a list of all the Hunger Games movies, ranked from worst to best!
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Director: Francis Lawrence
Full Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Review
While Mockingjay Part 2 is a fitting conclusion to the Hunger Games saga, the film has to be at the bottom of my ranking. The final film of the franchise focuses on the love triangle between Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), and Gale (Liam Hemsworth), which sometimes feels irrelevant during a film that focuses on the revolution in Panem, especially since the love story was never the most interesting element of the Hunger Games. Similarly, for a movie that is about the revolution the audience has been waiting for ever since the first film, Mockingjay Part 2 feels incredibly slow, with a first half that struggles with its pacing more so than any other Hunger Games film.
Emotionally, it is also one of the hardest movies to watch. While the very premise of the Hunger Games themselves necessarily leads to the death of multiple characters in every film, Mockingjay Part 2 is the one where we have to say goodbye to some key characters the audience had gotten attached to, such as Finnick (Sam Claflin) and Primrose (Willow Shields). It is still a beautiful film with a very powerful final montage that shows us the lives of the main characters after the revolution and the Hunger Games, but it does not stand out quite as much as the others.
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Director: Francis Lawrence
Full Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Review
Mockingjay Part 1 ranks higher than its sequel, mainly because it kicks off the revolution part of the series, which makes for a very interesting premise. It also represents a significant change from the rest of the saga, as this is the first film in the Hunger Games where we do not see the titular Hunger Games on screen. This introduces us to an entirely new context and stakes as we witness the real war.
In Mockingjay Part 1 we feel the fact that some characters are missing and have very little screen time compared to the other film. The truth of the matter, in the end, is that the Mockingjay films would have worked better as one single movie. Perhaps that is why the two final movies of the series are often not seen at the best in the franchise. They also seem to present similar pacing issues: while most of the Hunger Games films are fairly long, it is only in the last two that we truly feel their runtime.
3. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Director: Francis Lawrence
Full Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Review
The newest addition to the Hunger Games saga, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is undoubtedly a successful one which fits with the entire franchise incredibly well. If the first Hunger Games introduces us to Panem and its history, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes also gives the audience a whole new world that shows us the past of Capitol City – a past that we have only heard about in passing in the main franchise. The prequel film also gives us an insight into the very origins of the Hunger Games as we know them today.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes transfers some of the most successful elements of the Hunger Games saga to this new adaptation, with extremely compelling characters we cannot get enough of and beautiful and haunting cinematography that creates the perfect setting for this story to play out. It also successfully delivers a character study of a dangerously fascinating villain that we know very well from the main series.
2. The Hunger Games
Director: Gary Ross
The Hunger Games is where it all began, so naturally, it has to take one of the top spots in any ranking of the Hunger Games saga. The film introduces us to the dystopian world in which this story is set and does so in an excellent and concise way, creating the perfect set-up for the events of the entire saga and its characters. It is our first look into the world of Panem, which very much feels like a cautionary tale on what a totalitarian rule can look like, one that still resonates today.
Despite having been released more than 10 years ago, the social commentary in The Hunger Games still feels incredibly relevant today. This may be why it is still such a beloved product: the first film, just like the entire saga, holds up a mirror to society and makes us face uncomfortable truths and ponder on painful questions.
1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Director: Francis Lawrence
Read also: Why Catching Fire is the Best Hunger Games Film
The second instalment of any series is often a hard one to make, as it has the hard task of continuing a franchise’s legacy but also, at the same time, setting up its future. Yet Catching Fire is hands-down the best Hunger Games film. Everything seems to fall in its place easily in it: with a premise that was already established in the first film and yet enough change from The Hunger Games to keep it original and interesting, this movie creates a powerful reflection on the Capitol City we have only seen in passing and allows for a closer look into how much of a villain the President is.
Catching Fire is also our first introduction to the bigger tensions that will define the Hunger Games saga from now on and eventually lead to the revolution we see in the last two movies of the franchise. It also introduces us to some key characters in the film, such as Finnick (Sam Claflin), who will play an important role in future films and who the audience will eventually grow close to as the story progresses.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released globally in theaters on November 17, 2023.
