The basic premise of the book is that Tris, the main character played by Shailene Woodley is a Divergent and does not fit into any of the movies five factions which is a big no-no punishable by death. Even still she does well in her chosen faction called Dauntless. But only after a lot of training in fighting and bravery. Her faction do things for fun and credit like jumping from moving trains and leaping from buildings into nets. They are the protectors of the post Apocalyptic city which is surrounded by a large wall.
In Divergent, there are five factions. The five factions are Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity, and Candor. A good deal of thought went into how each faction is portrayed in the film. Each has a specific way of dressing and has certain values to uphold. The values correlate to their work and function in society. Tris is forced to fight the rest of her faction and Erudite after a big plot twist. The five factions are not all shown evenly in the movie however we do see supporting characters from at least three of them. The big imposing antagonist is Jeanine Matthews played by Kate Winslet.
The movie doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on action till the end of the film. Most of it is filled with character interaction that will be interesting to most young adult viewers. We get to see Tris grows from a kind and gentle young creature to a courageous, smart and skilled fighter. She is the protege of Tobias nicknamed “Four”. Tobias is a very skilled fighter and higher member of Dauntless which gives both characters a lot of ways to show off on screen. We know we will learn more of Four in the rest of the movies in the series.
Some of that scenes that were supposed to be influential failed to stymie the interest of viewers in the best possible way. An example of this are the chemically induced physiological tests. The test are used to determine aptitude. The director portrays them in a very logical way and we aren’t really surprised or holding the bottoms of our seats when watching them. Granted there wasn’t much time devoted to each one, however, the physiological test could have included more elements of action or suspense. On a good note, the ending was well paced and did leave us with big unanswered questions for those who have not read the book. For those who have, the next movie “Insurgent” will change screenplay writers and directors so we should hopefully see an increase in positive viewer reviews.
Divergent is a well cast movie and we actually see some new and old faces in the film. In fact, another book to film adaptation, “The Spectacular Now” has two actors joining together again in this film. They are Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller whom have a rivalry in this film instead of a romance. Kate Winslet is also a star of a book to film adaptation which was released during the same time called “Labor Day”. Be sure to check those two films out for something to divert your attention from the action and thrill of Divergent.
This movie is big box office fair and if you didn’t know it also has over 3 books in the series like Harry Potter or Hunger Games. The latter, Hunger Games, being its closest cousin. The movie revolves around a similar post-war society as Hunger Games. It has a female protagonist main character and her male counterpart. It is a action flick that offers a little more world development than Hunger Games or even Harry Potter. In both of those book to film adaptations you are basically left to believe the movie fantasy is how it is. In the beginning the factions are working together and towards the end there is turmoil and war. In that sense the movie is also a border-line espionage thriller. Albeit, from us to judge the 3 series similarly. Just keep in mind they are all young adult books which feature young adult main characters.
