Divergent (2014)

Very well executed

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This movie is sooooo boring and stupid. Not event close to being decent bad acting and dull story. Don't waste your time with this bland excuse for a movie.

I just made an imdb account because the bad reviews here broke my heart and I felt like adding a positive voice, although I really understand some of critics. Firstly I have to say that, even though I watched it on a laptop's screen, I was deeply immerged in this movie, forgetting everything around me, something which nowadays rarely happens to me. The movie started very strong and the hallucination scene was absurdly interesting and exciting. The concept of the five factions was executed well without feeling childish. Although the world felt a bit unrealistic theoretically, which didn't matter in this case because it served the story very well. You could really see that it is also a wink to our own reality. I really liked the design choices of fashion,architecture and weapons. But the whole story felt a bit rushed though and this movie would lent itself perfectly for a serie which would give it more time to unfold its beauty. (edit: I see it's a trilogy, perfect) I think this movie is just perfect for anyone who loves psychologicy, mature sci-fi worlds and can just even relate a bit to one of the two main characters. In a world full of bland unoriginal fantasy movies filled with bad american jokes, this one really stands out for me as a special one. I just feel bad for the people that couldn't experience the empathy with the characters, as you have really missed something.

Divergent has been compared to other best selling film adaptation before it such as the Hunger Games. Having no prior knowledge about the Divergent film series, one would not be as disappointing if did not enjoy the film. This film is best suited and aimed for those fans that enjoy films as the Hunger Games, Twilight or Maze Runner, and we can see why. As these are more teenage, young adult based theme films. The Divergent Series has done well box office wise which is why it is a trilogy. About the film, the effects and visuals as well done, the presence and lead portrayal of Shailene Woodley is good as she is a likable lead to root for. Divergent is quite long and seems to drag at times though there are some scenes of entertainment in general. It is quite predictable and not as suspenseful or thrilling as one had assumed. Towards the end half, the film plays out more like a romance love story (as we all saw the romance between Tris and Four happening) in which it starts to go slowly downhill and become a little more boring in regards. The film also doesn't show as to why there are fractions of the world split, we are just to assume something happened in the beginning. Dystopian futuristic movies have a certain praise as we enjoy, but without much detail, it becomes a little wondering as to why. In general the film features a lot of stunts, jumping around, running, fighting and other forms of survival.

This does not, in my opinion, qualify as a true dystopian movie/book. At it's core, it's a teen novel that rides the coattails of the Hunger Games, though in fairness, it is original enough not to be called a copy. But the focus is much more on the teen novel aspects of it with the young characters and the romantic storyline with Tris and Four. The dystopian aspects that the movie is named for is pretty shallow. A major point of dystopian fiction is to examine how the actions we are taking right now could affect the future if they are unchecked. Nothing of that nature is present in the regime of government regulated stereotyping. There are no points made or debates raised concerning what it means to be Divergent. Additionally, the strictness of conformity that was expected from the people was not made clear, which I disliked, but I guess that shows how important it is to the story.A major place where it lacked was its weak protagonist. Tris and Four are Divergents, and yet they have very little personality. Tris didn't feel like someone who is different. Honestly, she comes off as one of the most normal and colorless characters I've ever seen. She definitely has the least personality out of any of the other characters she interacts with. She has nothing driving her, and while that may be understandable for someone in her position, that's not the kind of person I'm going to root for. Now, part of that is probably because this was first a book, and that means that Tris' personality could be revealed to readers through her own thoughts instead of "character moments". I haven't read the book, but I've read Hunger Games, and I there were a couple of moments and shots that felt like they were trying to translate some of Tris' little interior monologues visually. It didn't help that Shaline Woodly gave a stiff performance that was comprised in large part of her gaping into the camera every few minutes. The other characters had some more personality and a couple had evident beliefs or motivations, but none of them were believable. Now, I don't want to slam on the movie too hard, because it held my attention the whole time and was adequately entertaining, which counts for something. There were enough interesting and active scenes to keep me interested, and there was some good technical work done on it. The action was fine, but there was a problem with people handling injuries a little too well. Tris gets shot in the leg and then is walking on it just fine a few minutes later, and Jeanine seems largely unaffected by the knife that goes *through her hand*. Probably the most striking thing about the movie was the sound mixing. I don't know why that stood out to me, but there was a lot of intensity created by the blending of the score and the other sounds of the movie. However insignificant that may be, it speaks to how unremarkable the rest of the movie was. There was nothing special about the characters, plot, or the world that was created. Yeah, it looked nice, but that doesn't really make up for the fact that it was essentially a pretty bland movie. It was like somebody made an amazingly well-cooked loaf of Wonder bread; as good as it is, it's still Wonder bread so there's only so good it can be. So I won't recommend this one way or the other. If you liked Hunger Games, yeah, you'll like this, but I think this is a couple steps down from that. But don't feel like you're missing out if you haven't seen it. Overall Rating: 7.2/10