Score: 3.5/5
“Divergent,”
at least to me, was a perfect example of why Rotten Tomatoes shouldn’t be a
be-all-end-all declaration of whether a movie is enjoyable or not. While this
movie may not win over anyone who dislikes the young-adult genre, it’s still
worth checking out even if you haven’t read the book. I dare even say it was
quite good.
“Divergent”
stars Shailene Woodley as Tris, a young woman living in a dystopian society
divided into several factions. Now, for those of you who are quick to
unfavorably compare this to the “Hunger Games” series, this is pretty much
where the similarities end. Instead of being forced to fight against the other
factions to survive, Tris faces the dilemma of being grouped into one of the
factions via a government-run aptitude test. Once she discovers that her
results are inconclusive (or as the movie calls it: “Divergent”), she is put in
danger. Since divergent people are a sign that the government’s control is
weak, the government actively seeks to destroy them. It is up to Tris to use
her wits and physical prowess to avoid persecution for the government and hide
her divergent results.
While its
premise alone is quite fascinating, “Divergent” does a fine job of setting up
its world, and gives plenty of details to the audience about how it works. The
fantastic blend of real-life sets and digital imagery is a pleasure to watch,
and it really gives the viewer a sense of immersion. From underground caves to
city catacombs, fans and non-fans of the novel will likely be delighted seeing
author Veronica Roth’s work come to life.
Some of my favorite scenes involved dream-like simulations where the characters’
fears were put to the test. One scene involves Tris trying to stop a dog that
was friendly to her from attacking a young girl in a hall of mirrors. A lot of
creativity and effort was clearly put into bringing this scene from the book to
the big screen.
Shailene
Woodley is truly outstanding in her role as Tris, taking on the role with great
skill. From happiness and confidence to sadness and fear, Woodley remarkably
relays these emotions to make Tris an absolutely riveting character. It
certainly does help that her character is is so well written. From the very beginning to the tail-end of the
movie, the audience is given plenty of time to feel for Tris. Throughout the
movie, she must make difficult choices, and every one of them is shown in full
detail thanks to the fine screenplay and exemplary cinematography.
One particular scene involves the
moment where she must choose what faction to join despite her inconclusive test
results. Her parents are both part of “Abnegation,” the faction in charge of community
service. On the other hand, her dream as a child was to join “Dauntless,” a
faction dedicated to law enforcement and military duties. Without the proper
test results to guide her, she must choose between the two in a scene that
involves plenty of close ups to build a heavy sense of tension.
I’m not going to spoil anything
about the plot, but I will say that there are plenty of dark, unexpected twists.
These moments of shock and surprise give the screenplay a lot more meat to it
than it could have had.
The cinematography alone is another
high point of this movie. Every action setpiece of this movie is finely shot,
and every punch and fall is hard hitting and realistic. One scene involving a
human knife-throwing target was so suspenseful, that I (and I’m sure many other
audience members) flinched at the excruciatingly close impact of the knives
around the person’s body.
To be fair to this film’s critics,
the love story does feel a bit unnecessary. Watching Tris as she builds
friendships and evades her enemies would have been a fine concept on its own.
Unfortunately, she is given a rather bland character as a love interest named
Four (played by Theo James). James’ performance isn’t nearly as up to par as
Woodley’s, and his character just seems too flawless to really care about. Add
that to the fact that he has a troubled past, and this character just came
across as a gary-stu/obligatory male love interest. On the bright side, his
character does help Tris throughout the story, so he isn’t completely pointless.
To be honest, he didn’t really seem like that major of a character, and Tris
still rightfully held the spotlight.
While it may not be a groundbreaking
sci-fi film, Divergent is still a pleasure to watch. Even its weak love story
takes a back seat to immerse the audience in a fascinating world. Fans of the
book will most likely enjoy it, and even non-fans will get a kick out of its
many plot twists and dreamlike visuals.
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