Fans can temporarily breath a sigh of relief because it seems like Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a major success - based on what early viewers and critics have to say.

14 reviews in so far, the film is currently registering a 93 percent approval rating on the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes - a difficult feat to accomplish! while most contribute this to Jennifer Lawrence's always outstanding performance, there is also the new director to applaud.

Variety's Peter Debruge explains, "Though technically just the bridge between the lower-budget original and the two-part finale still to come, in director Francis Lawrence’s steady hands (gone are the previous film’s needlessly spastic camera moves) 'Catching Fire' makes for rousing entertainment in its own right, leaving fans riled and ready to storm the castle."

The review goes on to describe Francis as "a director with a firm grasp of large-canvas filmmaking, equally skilled at tense, white-knuckle sci-fi… and bald, unapologetic romance," praising him for finding "the perfect balance between emotions and excitement." - Yahoo! Movies.