Señor Movie Review: Divergent

Plot

Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, and directed by Neil Burger, Divergent is based off the 2011 Veronica Roth novel of the same name.

Tris (Woodley) lives in a post-war Chicago where the population is split into 5 groups, or Factions, in order to maintain peace. Each Faction has its own set of qualities which set it apart from the others, and at a certain age, the youth take a test to determine which faction they fit into. Tris, however, is a Divergent, meaning she is a free thinker and does not fit into any Faction. This threatens the faction system and therefore must be killed. After trying to hide by fitting into one of the Factions, she and Four (James) discover a plan to overthrow the current government, and must stop it before it is too late.

Review

Keeping up? Yeah, it's a little bit confusing when hearing the plot for the first time. But we'll get to that in a minute.

Divergent is another novel-based adaption in a long line of young-adult-novels-turned-to-films, following Vampire Academy, Mortal Instruments, Percy Jackson, and others. So is Divergent any different? Yes. Surprised? I sure was. But let's see what sets it apart from the others.

The acting, first of all, is very solid throughout the entire cast, and all the actors are there to play ball. Shailene Woodley, who has been having trouble really making her mark in Hollywood, delivers a believable, committed performance as the lead. She doesn't overdo any aspect of her character, yet she doesn't let you forget that she is there. Theo James, tasked with playing the tough, serious, emotionless character, does so well. Like Woodley, he doesn't overdo the tough act, although there are times his voice does get a bit monotone. The rest of the cast also delivers a good performance; no sore spots or characters that pull you out of the film.

 The world is also very well realized in Divergent. You actually find yourself believing in the setting and that these Factions could actually exist in a post-war world, which is a very big deal for the success of this story. However, that being said, the story is a little confusing at first. Keeping up with which Faction is which, aside from the story's main two, is difficult throughout the film; the names certainly don't help either.

Little things here and there also bothered me throughout the film: the design of the weapons looked incredibly childish, the annoyance of some characters, some cheesy moments, and some parts of the film that probably could have been left out, and the long run time of almost 2 hours 20 minutes. However, having not read the book, I am not sure how important to the series every scene in Divergent are.Of course, there are very similar aspects to the story which remind you of other young adult novels, but there are enough differences to not make you think you've already seen this a thousand times before.My biggest complaint is that I wish the movie wrapped up in a more solid fashion.

With solid acting, an intriguing story, a believable world, and a lead character you end up caring about, Divergent is a film to check out. Watch out for the sequel Insurgent, set to release in 2015.

I give Divergent 7/10 Señor thumbs up!

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This has been SeñorMovie, I'll see you at the theater!