Rating of
2.5/4
Diverging Enough for Now
Chris Kavan - wrote on 12/26/14
Comparisons to The Hunger Games are inevitable as we have another post-apocalyptic YA story involving pretty young people who become rebels against the hierarchy in their corner of the world. In this case following some devastating war, the surviving humans have been divided up into factions - and once you make your choice, you're there for life ("Faction before blood.") - and it seems to be working, you know, at the cost of human nature. When people come of age they take a test to determine which faction is best, though they can choose whichever one they want (but are still stuck with it for the rest of their life). But a few people are different - Divergent - they have the qualities of each faction, not just one - and they are dangerous.
Thus we follow Shailene Woodley as she deals with being labeled Divergent - at first trying to fit in to the militaristic Dauntless faction, but eventually being weeded out. Kate Winslet plays the upright leader of Candor - the law and order group - who will do anything to make sure the system works, including turing the Dauntless faction into mindless drones to wipe out the Abnegation faction - the supposedly most selfless group, but also seen as a threat as other factions question their motives. Also, she wants to kill all Divergent - no rebels in this new world order.
Overall the movie isn't bad - but like Hunger Games - the first movie is more of a set-up - the action is great - but the exposition is greater. And once again the whole romance between Woodley and fellow compatriate Four (Theo James) doesn't work as well as it should. It was nice to see her with Miles Teller (who plays Peter, a major jerk) and Ansel Elgort (who plays her brother - later to star as her boyfriend in The Fault in Our Stars). Things do pick up towards the end and I have higher hopes for the sequels.
