As history has shown, young actors and sequels don’t usually make for a great movie, but fortunately for “Catching Fire”, the second installment of the “Hunger Games” franchise, this is not the case.

Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Katniss Everdeen, the movie’s rags-to-riches hero, has been in a number of hugely-successful movies in the past, such as the award-winning “Silver Lining’s Playbook” and the thrilling “House At the End of the Street.” Lawrence has done what many believed to be impossible; managing to make Katniss much more than a poor, distressed, sad-go-lucky coal miner’s daughter, like she did in the previous film, and instead has given a new fresh outlook to her recent claim to fame.

Another actor that caught the attention of both the audiences’ and my own attention was the small character Wiress, played by the Pulp-Fiction-famed Amanda Plummer. Her now-infamous movie line, “Tick tock, this is a clock,” which was repeated in the same scene no less than 17 times, has spread like wildfire across the internet, merchandising itself as a large number of memes, parodies, and fan-made movie posters.

Fortunately for the cast of “Catching Fire”, Francis Lawrence, director of “I Am Legend”, was at the helm of the movie. Many critics scoffed at the thought of Lawrence, whose few movies were known for being critical and commercial failures, directing such a highly-anticipated movie, but they are currently eating their words. In terms of cinematography, the film continues with the handheld look of the previous movie, perfecting it with what looks to be better, cleaner camera lenses. This gives the film a “found footage” look, as if the movie itself is a documentary, showing us, the viewers what the future of reality television might have in store.

In short, the movie itself is a great example of how a “middle movie” should be. Apart from great direction and excellent acting, like all movies should have, a middle movie should build upon each character’s story arc, settle most personal conflicts, and set-up the viewers for the final installment. “Catching Fire” accomplishes all three, and like all rarities, it should be watched over with the highest amount of care.