Divergent

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Mekhi Phifer, Tony Goldwyn, Maggie Q, Ansel Elgort
Directed by: Neil Burger
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: In a world where all young people are divided into different factions, Tris (Shailene Woodley) learns that she is Divergent- she doesn't fit into any of the factions, which makes her dangerous in the eyes of the ruling body.

Review:

Tim: Something interesting happened to me while watching Divergent. Whenever I see a movie in theaters, I always see it again on DVD before reviewing it. The theater-going experience can be misleading, so I want to give the film a fair shot before submitting my final review. Since I've been doing this for 13 years, I'm pretty good at assessing a film. 99% of the time, the rating I'd give a film in theaters is the same several months later. On occasion, a movie doesn't hold up or I was caught up in the theater-going experience, so had to adjust down. It's pretty rare for me to adjust up, but that's exactly what happened with Divergent.

In the theater, I watched a surprisingly enjoyable movie that managed to be better than the majority of these young adult dystopian stories that are rolling out of Hollywood these days. I thought it was a good movie. What's funny is that I really couldn't forget the film in the months that followed. It stuck with me. As I thought about it more, I liked the movie more than my initial reaction. When I sat down to see it a second time, I was curious to see if my new thoughts were confirmed- and they were. This is a really good movie, even better than I first expected. It's not quite great, but it gets awfully close.

Outside of the big franchises, these teen adventure movies have been pretty disappointing. Harry Potter set the bar, Twilight did it's thing, The Hunger Games proved a solid success. However, everything else has been pretty abysmal. A number of these movies come out every year and most of them never find an audience and are completely forgotten (for good reason). Divergent bucks the trend and deserves a place among the better young adult book adaptations.

A big part of this is due to Shailene Woodley. It's amazing to see her meteoric rise. I still remember her awful acting on the terrible "The Secret Life of the American Teenager", of which I was forced to sit through way too many episodes. To see how she's moved on from that show and made an impressive career is incredible. She makes a wonderful heroine here- in the vein of Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. She's this strong, kind, interesting character. She doesn't blow the role away, but she turns in a solid, entertaining performance. She has this relatable quality that allows her to connect with the audience. She's quite good here.

Even more surprising is Theo James. In most of these young adult movies, they make the mistake of casting a good looking guy who can't act worth a damn. It's happened in a dozen films and it's so frustrating. That does not happen here. James takes a role that could have been throwaway and really makes it his own. Four might have a stupid name, but his character is incredibly important to the film. James makes his character interesting and exciting. He doesn't rely on his looks alone, like so many other young actors- he actually delivers a pretty strong performance. James is a big, big reason why this film is better than the other similar ones coming out of Hollywood.

The supporting cast is good, too. Ashley Judd is fine as Woodley's mom. Kate Winslet turns in a rare villainous role, but she adds real class and talent to the film. Miles Teller felt a little out of place, but it was fun seeing him as this completely unlikeable character. I was glad to see Mekhi Phifer in a small role as well. Jai Courtney makes a chilling antagonist. The cast is surprisingly good from start to finish.

Neil Burger does a good job directing this film and rising above the average. The story is pretty interesting, with its different factions. I loved the idea of someone being Divergent- not really fitting into any one category. This is a feeling that the vast majority of this movie's target audience can identify with. I liked the message in the movie, that you have to be true to yourself and not worry if you don't conform with the crowd. Those are positive messages for teens. The story is pretty exciting as well, as we get caught up in Tris' adventure as she tries to make it in her new faction, Dauntless. Most of these ideas have been used dozens of times in science fiction before, but Burger presents it in a way that feels fresh and exciting. I have to admit I was most invested in the characters than I usually am. That is the sign of a really good film.

Now, while I really enjoyed Divergent, it's not a great movie. Too much of the film treads ground that is well worn by other films who've done it better. This film is better than the majority of teen films, but it's not effective enough to be a true classic. At 139 minutes, the film is pretty long, especially once the big climax starts going. The scenes outside of the Dauntless training ones were clearly less effective, which makes me concerned about the future of the franchise.

Still, taking this film on its own, it's a fun journey and every bit as good as a film like The Hunger Games. This movie came out in a sub-genre littered with the carcasses of would-be contenders. It succeeds where so many others have failed.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Harry Potter