I was only on my fourth review when I published one of my more controversial articles; my full critical analysis of The Hunger Games. Daring to give the film a C-, it remains to this day one of my more controversial ratings due to me having the gall to say anything bad about the uber popular franchise. 20 months later, I’m more disgusted by my lack of word choice than I am about my opinion of the film. I still feel it was filled with underdeveloped characters, shaky camerawork and a poor script and I stand by initial grade entirely. So, imagine my surprise then, when I emerged from my screening of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, feeling like I finally got The Hunger Games movie I’d always wanted; here, finally, was a good cinematic adventure for Katniss Everdeen.

Being a winner isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) can vouch for such a statement. Since being the victor of the violent Hunger Games, she has become a media darling, with her romantic facade with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) being the main subject of all this media attention. Still, this media attention seems to help spur an uprising against the malevolent Capital, so in order to eliminate the problem, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) has an intriguing plan for the upcoming 75th Hunger Games; put Katniss back in the games, but this time squaring off with past victors.

These days, it seems to be getting rarer and rarer for sequels to retain the directors who helped create the first movie. Director Gary Ross, who brought first film to pitiful life, is traded out for director Francis Lawrence (whose previous directorial work includes I Am Legend and Water For Elephants), who turns out to be a fantastic substitute and easily makes the film his own. While he keeps the design aesthetics of the each of the districts from the original film and its director, he also helps make the story clearer by forgoing the use of shaky-cam and by putting more emphasis on the characters.

Actually, characters are where the film really excels, as we get to see more personality in the folks Katniss faces in the games this time around, and this movie is so, so much better for it. While most remain nameless, the film still makes a good chunk of these competitors vividly real and gives them clear cut purposes in the plot. Personally, from our newcomers, I enjoyed Sam Claflin’s portrayal of Finnick the best, as both the actor and the script have the character live and breath charisma, while the film hints at masking inner turmoil and pain.

In terms of other characters, Haymitch (still played by Woody Harrelson) is given more to do here, including delivering some of the film’s funniest moments, while Gale (Liam Hemsworth) actually serves a purpose this time around, which is nice. Lawrence excels as Katniss, playing her as equal parts legendary warrior and everyday fellow, an excellent combination. Finally, antagonists President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) are riveting foes, especially Sutherland, whose character is likely one of the best to come from this franchise and remains a consistently fascinating adversary.

I did feel the film lost some of it’s excellent pacing once they enter the ring, as it at first seems repetitive and derivative from the first movie, but thankfully, once the well written characters begin to work together, things pick up dramatically. Also, the ending of the film makes the fatal mistake of franchising films by going out on a cliffhanger instead of concise ending. It kind of works, especially since it amps up the stakes considerably, but it also feels anticlimactic, especially since everything else in the film has felt rather superb. But aside from those flaws, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is one of the year’s biggest surprises, a well written, directed and acted film that infinitely builds on its predecessor to create a terrific film. To put it simply, the odds are finally in this franchise’s favor.