The first Hunger Games was released only last year (otherwise known as a lifetime ago in pop culture) and was a huge hit, garnering solid critical praise and audience love to the tune of almost $700 million worldwide. It was, perhaps harshly, labelled by its detractors as Battle Royale with the edges taken off (or “Battle Royale with Cheese” as one person wittily put it) considering its plot about kids killing kids in a forced and controlled environment as the result of a society gone amok.

For me it was successful at building up its world – that of the district-split society in which it’s set and the rule of the totalitarian government – but disappointing when it came to the actual event of the title, mainly because of how little of the violence was actually shown on-screen (largely, but not wholly, down to the fact that it was neutered in the UK in order to achieve that coveted target-market 12A age rating) and how it failed to do much with the battle arena.

I’m relieved to report, then, that Catching Fire has fixed much of the major issues that held the first one back. It feels like a lot more mature, confident adaptation with much more of a harder edge to it; the stakes are higher and the consequences graver, giving it a sense of danger and immediacy simply not found last time. It’s almost as if the first film was the trial run, setting up the world it didn’t have the means to capitalise on, and the sequel has developed that world and its themes to leave an overall more narratively satisfying impression.

It’s not that we get to see Battle Royale level on-screen blood and guts but you feel the violence a lot more even if you don’t literally see it. Once again the first half or so of the film builds up to the Hunger Games – this time a special 75th anniversary edition in which the participants are chosen from the list of previous victors – but the difference here is it pays off once the countdown and gunshot indicating the start of the battle occurs.

New director Francis Lawrence (replacing Gary Ross), along with screenwriters Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3), make great inventive use of what the deadly arena has to offer which provides for some interesting new and exciting visuals to both enhance and counterpoint the hunting and survival. Lawrence’s direction injects some much needed vitality to the proceedings, not just in the action scenes which are a vast improvement on last time but in how the different story threads and themes are handled so that very few of them feel superfluous or time-wasting.

As for the cast, fan favourites like franchise heroine Katniss, a once again spirited performance by Jennifer Lawrence playing a female role model for young girls that Bella Swan could only dream of being; Caesar Flickerman, the wonderfully over-the-top TV personality played by Stanley Tucci; and Effie Trinket, the Lady Gaga-esque character played by Elizabeth Banks are all back. However, it helps a lot that there’s some new blood this time around to spice things up a little including Jeffrey Wright and Amanda Plummer as two strange, tech-savvy former victors; Jena Malone as a feisty former victor furious she has been cheated of her freedom; and particularly Philip Seymour Hoffman as the cold, calculating and suspiciously plain-dressed Head Gamemaker fantastically named Plutarch Heavensbee.

Unlike many of the post-Twilight teen fantasy adventures like The Host and The Mortal Instruments, to name but a couple, Catching Fire doesn’t spin its wheels but actually pushes the ideas of its source material into some interesting places. Its social satire may still be a little too on the nose and at almost two and a half hours long it does sag on a few occasions too many, namely in the love interest scenes with Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), a problem it sadly shares with the first film. But it takes the idea of (and ideas within) the fantastical world and runs with it in a way that’s not only visually unique but enjoyable as an action movie that’s at least trying to be about something other than the CGI used to bring many of its scenes to life. And perhaps best of all it provides for a satisfying individual chapter in the franchise as much as it leaves you wanting to see more.

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is released in UK cinemas on November 21st.