In the second installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire, Jennifer Lawrence and the rest of the cast came back to burn up the big screen. With a new director, Francis Lawrence, and several additions to the cast, the movie obliterated its predecessor.

The change in directors proved to be wise, for the shaky camera in the Hunger Games did not return, making more realistic fight scenes. In addition, the new cast members, like Sam Claflin, Jena Malone and Philip Seymour Hoffman provided light to the already impressive list of actors in the movie, including Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz and Elizabeth Banks.

Fortunately, most of the plot in the movie stayed true to the book. While there were some minor tweaks in the plot, it did not take away from the overall film. For me, an avid Hunger Games fan, the movie was better than anything I could have imagined. The acting improved to the point where what the characters said and did and how they reacted were extremely realistic.

In Catching Fire, the heroine of District 12, Katniss Everdeen, must return to the Hunger Games because of the Quarter Quell, where every 25 years, the games are altered. For the third Quarter Quell, two victors from each of the 12 districts must revisit the arena, where they must fight to the death once again. This brings conflicts for Katniss and the other victor from District 12, Peeta Mellark, because they are no longer trying to fight teenagers, but expert killers.

In the arena, the victors face many lethal problems, like poisonous fog, rabid muttation (an animal genetically altered for the games) monkeys, tsunamis, blood rain and more.

This year’s hottest film is filled with heart-wrenching, comical and action-packed scenes that leave you on the edge of your seat until the very last second. The first part of the third movie, Mockingjay, has a release date of November 21, 2014, followed by the second part on November 20, 2015. Tick tock.