I’m happy to say that ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ does not suffer from the usual sequel downgrade in quality. It’s one of those rare sequels that improves on its predecessor by bringing more depth to the characters, emotional stakes, and darker themes.

The film opens with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) preparing to embark on their mandatory Victory Tour. Having both won the 74th annual Hunger Games, they must travel to each district and deliver speeches to the losing districts and the families of the fallen tributes. Even though they’re technically safe now for winning the games, Katniss and Peeta are in even more danger due to their defiance against The Capitol. Their actions from the games have resulted in riots and rebellions all across the various districts of Panem. The villainous President Snow (Donald Sutherland) requests that they keep up their act of star-crossed lovers, for they wouldn’t want a war to break out.

Snow cannot just simply kill Katniss, even though he really wants to. He has to do so wisely, so as to now cause a real revolution to break out. As a result, Snow and the new game master for the 75th Hunger Games Plutarch Heavensbee (the great Phillip Seymour Hoffman) conceive of a clever plan to eliminate Katniss and her “species” of Hunger Games Victors. Every 25th year of the Hunger Games becomes a special event called the Quarter Quell, in which new rules and twists are introduced [the first Quarter Quell required each district to vote and choose which boy and girl to enter into the games; the second Quarter Quell doubled the amount of tributes, with two boys and two girls from each district reaped]. According to Snow as he announces to the public, as a reminder that even the strongest in the districts cannot defy The Capitol, the tributes for the 75th Hunger Games would be reaped from the pool of surviving victors. With Katniss being the sole female victor of District 12, she’s automatically in the games again.

Thus begins a sort of “all-stars” event, with Katniss’ competition being more dangerous than before, as each has one their respective years. The Quarter Quell aspect of ‘Catching Fire’ is great because it keeps things fresh, even though the plot’s structure is very similar to the first film. The first hour again takes place in District 12, then we switch to scenes in The Capitol, training montages for the games, and then the final hour which is the games itself.

This time around we spend more time understanding the main and supporting characters. Katniss’ little sister Prim (Willow Shields) and best friend/boyfriend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) have more to do and are given more screen time. We see Katniss’ life after experiencing the horrors of the Hunger Games; she’s obviously suffering from PTSD. Peeta is more characterized this time around, showing his struggles with keeping his feelings for Katniss separate from their “on-screen” acts of love.

Also returning are Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), a past District 12 victor, and Effie (Elizabeth Banks), the always flashy and amusing chaperone. Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) returns as Katniss’ brilliant stylist, and it’s always great to have Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), the Capital’s blue-haired, tanned talk show host whose smile is more flashy than his outfits. Really, the amount of talent in this film is incredible, which includes various Oscar winners and nominees.

New to the scene are Finnick Odair (Sam Clafllin, ‘Snow White & The Huntsman’), Johanna Mason (Jena Malone, ‘Sucker Punch‘), and Beetee (Jeffrey Wright, ‘Source Code‘), all tributes and previous victors. Claflin is great as the cocky pretty-boy whom Katniss doesn’t trust, Wright always does a good job at portraying intelligent characters, such as the tech-expert Beetee, and Malone may finally have a role that could bring her the mainstream attention she’s deserved; her Johanna has a fiery personality and has one of the best, if not funniest, scenes in the film.

There’s been a change behind the scenery as well, switching from ‘The Hunger Games‘ director Gary Ross (‘Seabiscuit’) to Francis Lawrence (‘Constantine’, ‘I Am Legend’ & ‘Water for Elephants‘). Honestly, I was worried when Lawrence was announced as the new director of not only ‘Catching Fire’, but of the next two films ‘Mockingjay’ parts 1 and 2 as well. His previous efforts were all okay, though nothing spectacular. But I have to give him credit for making ‘Catching Fire’ a well-polished hit because it’s definitely my favorite film he’s directed. Gone is Gary Ross’ decision with the first film to portray everything with shaky camerawork. Though I appreciated the shaky-cam for certain artistic purposes, it’s a nice change to see smooth and traditional camerawork with ‘Catching Fire’. All of the action is more focused and clear now.

Trish Summerville (‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo‘), the costume designer for the film, does a fantastic job, with the various inventive outfits depicted as one of the standout aspects of ‘Catching fire’. There are dresses made entirely out of butterflies, one made out of fans, and a standout wedding gown. She’s really pushed the limits of creativity when it comes down to the crazy fashion of the citizens of The Capitol.

The well-paced script is written by Michael Arndt (‘Little Miss Sunshine’ & ‘Toy Story 3‘) and Simon Beaufoy (‘Slumdog Millionaire‘ & ‘127 Hours‘), both highly talented screenwriters. They did a great job at translating the text to screen, though, as expected, some important aspects of the source had to be cut. One of the only flaws of the film is the lack of focus on the other tributes when the 75th games begin. As a result, none of the deaths really have any impact, at least not as much as certain deaths from the first film.

The Hunger Games scenes in ‘Catching Fire’ are definitely different from last time. The setting is a mixture of jungle and beach as opposed to a forest. The previous Hunger Games focused more on tribute-to-tribute interactions and surviving in nature. This time there seems to be less fighting between tributes and more fighting against artificial threats. Killer mutant monkeys, blood rain, and poisonous fog are just some of the many threats of the new arena. The special effects with the new arena in the film are really well-executed.

‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ is a powerful sequel to the original, well-executed, and filled with tremendous actors. Because it doesn’t have to spend time setting up the world like the original film, it spends more time expanding its history and universe. It’s darker, richer, and filled with social-political commentary not typical of blockbusters. Many will be upset with the film’s abrupt cliffhanger of an ending, which sticks true to its original source material.