Divergent - Movie Review (B+)

(B+) Tonight I caught the latest young-adult book adaptation blockbuster  - Divergent.

It's a thrilling post apocalyptic tale that was definitely picked up by studios to be the next "Hunger Games". With such comparisons to the global phenomenon of Katniss and crew so early on, Divergent has a tall order.

Does it live up? I'd say yes, it does. With a strong and charming cast, this dark and twisted adventure will take audiences on a ride. It's a long film (2hr28m) for the first installment and fits in quite a complicated plot. You've got all the ingredients; from family love, teen angst and identity crisis to initiation and near death experiences followed with a complicated series of tests and a hostile takeover.  I didn't even get to the end yet!


Tris (Shailene Woodley) lives in a future Chicago, walled off from a post-war torn world. She lives with her family in the faction of Abnegation, in this city everyone belongs to a faction and it defines you. Characteristics like being selfless and humble put you in Abnegation while being intelligent puts you in Eurdice and courage (often confused with recklessness) put you in Dauntless.

Tris is Divergent, someone who does not fit into just one faction. Her kind are dangerous to the carefully balanced society of conformity. Playing a wonderful villain is Kate Winslet, a hyper intelligent and cold woman who hunts down the divetgent. The film follows Tris' rollercoaster coming-of-age while uncovering dangerous politics and is a great journey for fans of escapism.

Highlights of this film are the cast and acting. I am a huge fan of Woodley and she holds her own in her first film franchise. Theo James plays opposite and the pair have incredible chemistry - also his shirt comes off and the ladies in my theater audibly enjoyed that. All of the Dauntless buddies (Zoe Kravitz, Jai Courtney, Maggie Q, Christian Madsen, Ben Lloyd-Hughes) make for great supporting cast.

The visuals are nice but nothing new or innovative, if you've seen a big budget film you'll recognize the attempt at the gritty indie look.

The weakness with this film is it's plot, perhaps the writer or director wanted to keep everything in from the book to appease fans. I'm not sure if I would have understood all of it if I had not read the books. Also, I'm not a fan of using current music in films like this, hearing Ellie Goulding belt out "High for This" just takes me out of the supposed dystopian universe.

All in all Divergent is worth a watch. The cast brings their A-Game and the story takes you in. Don't let me ruin it for you and
try to put aside comparisons to any other dystopian dramas with a strong female lead and enjoy this one!