Divergent
Set in
a dystopian,
post-apocalyptic world years after some horrible
war tore apart the fabric of society (good times!), Shailene Woodley
stars as Tris – a teen girl living in what used to be
Chicago,
and not sure about her future.
The city is broken up into 5 factions that serve as a division of labor
or caste system if you will, and teen kids have to choose which one
they want to join, after a series of tests that give them a strong
suggestion of where they belong (nothing like teaching kids the
appearance of free will vs. reality at a young age).
While Tris was born into Abnegation (the do-gooders who run the
government and think of everyone else before themselves), she ends up
choosing Dauntless (the cool kids who are rebels who fight and shoot
guns, wear awesome clothes and get tattoos! How does any teenager NOT
choose Dauntless?). However, she has a bigger secret to hide.
Tris is Divergent, which means she has skills that make her fit into
any group, and that scares those who want to control Chicago. The smart
people, Erudite, are trying to get rid of Divergents, and Tris is about
to face a test that could reveal her true nature, and put her life in
great peril.
Will Tris be found out?
Will she get to kiss the cute boy?
You didn’t think we would have a tweener movie without a cute
boy, did you?
If I was a 13-year old girl, Divergent
would be my GoodFellas.
It has all of the ingredients to the formula they want in a movie like
this. It is set in a dystopian future that is bleak and seems divided
up much like high school. We have a heroine struggling to fit in
because she is different (and kicking some booty along the way). And,
it features a boy who looks good with his shirt off.
Of course, for us adults, Divergent
is bland and blah and
predictable.
Director Neil Burger, along with writers Evan Daugherty and Vanessa
Taylor (based on the novels by Veronica Roth), spend too much time
trying to establish the world of Divergent,
instead of getting
into the story and exploring the bigger political intrigue brewing
below the surface, also known as failing to get to the freaking point.
You get the sense everyone is trying too hard to make this Part One of
a franchise of multiple movies, instead of making it a stand alone
story as they save too much for the sequel and toss in a bunch of
revelations and plot in the last 20 minutes because someone just
realized we need to end this marathon movie.
Even the cast is reflective of hope for the future more than delivering
a good movie right now. Kate Winslet shows up as Jeanine –
the
ruthless leader of Erudite (who still looks meek and mild compared to
Chicago’s current leader, Rahm Emanuel). She gets a couple
scenes, but her big plot is never one that builds on top of well timed
revelations. It just shows up towards the end when Burger and crew need
some action to wake us from our slumber.
Then, Woodley, who I loved in The
Descendants, does her best to
make the typical, formulaic stuff interesting. She’s making
Tris
mightily struggle with her secret and confusion over what it means for
her safety, battle her brewing emotions, and deal with horrible
betrayals, as well as fear for her family and friends as she wonders
who she can trust. Woodley even finds a bit of subtlety and control
when playing the teen girl getting hot and bothered for the dude who
looks good with his shirt off (bonus points for the tattoos), in spite
of some of the silliest dialogue in Divergent
being thrown to
her in these scenes.
Divergent
shows some hope, but shouldn’t
they be required to deliver on some of that hope now to justify a
second or third movie later?
Divergent
is rated PG-13 for intense violence
and action, thematic elements and some sensuality.
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