It certainly looks terrific. This prequel to the Hunger Games series, which explores the early life of president-to-be Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), is an undeniably striking work, unfolding against imposing fascist-classical architecture and boasting a glorious array of costumes (Viola Davis’s ensemble – scarlet patent leather gloves and a robe that looks like it has been dipped in the blood of underlings – is a particular high point).
But the story, which sees ambitious Capitol rising star Coriolanus falling for Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the female tribute he must mentor during the 10th annual Hunger Games, feels a little undercooked, with neither Zegler’s free-spirited songstress nor Blyth’s oddly inconsistent Snow fully developed as characters. Still, Davis’s deranged games designer Dr Volumnia Gaul and Jason Schwartzman’s showboating compere Lucky Flickerman justify the price of admission.