I have been waiting for the highly acclaimed sequel to Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games to come out in theaters for a year and a half. The first movie was fabulous; maybe not the best movie I’ve ever seen, but far superior to many “based-on-a-book” movies to ever be released.

I had high expectations. I had heard many a positive review of the movie, from professionals and peers alike. Although the story of Catching Fire wasn’t my favorite in the series, I couldn’t wait for the sequel to Hunger Games to come out. On the evening of Nov. 22, I settled in my seat as the movie began to roll.

And roll it did. I curled up in fear; I laughed; I cried; I swooned; I cringed, and I shouted in anger. The emotional roller coaster I went through was all the while overshadowed by the beauty of the story and the impressive visuals.

The new major characters–Plutarch, Finnick and Johanna–were masterfully portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, and Jena Malone, respectively. Hoffman played the two-faced Plutarch Heavensbee expertly, leaving you unsure of whether to hate the man or praise him for his brilliance. Claflin was beautiful, flirty, sexy and also wonderfully skillful in the arena; I adored him. Malone, playing Johanna, who I had previously disliked in the books, was sarcastic, crass, highly entertaining and bad*ss.

I’m not really sure how to express my complete adoration for this movie, as I spent most of the viewing time in a state of mindless rapture (while still hiding under Mia Karr’s arm as the monkeys bared their terrifyingly huge fangs) and don’t have any clear responses. Statistically, the ratings have shown that this movie has one of the most diverse audiences, age-, gender- and race-oriented, of all time. In that respect, I would recommend this movie to literally everyone, excluding sissies and those who have a very strong aversion to violence (one and the same, really).

This is one of the better movies I’ve ever seen and probably the best adaptation of a book into a movie. Fabulously written and cast (can we just take a moment to worship Jennifer Lawrence? And don’t get me started on the men. Thank you to Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth for being the best Peeta and Gale imaginable), this movie made me laugh and cry. I loved it.