This past weekend, the second adaptation in Veronica Roth’s “The Divergent Series”: Insurgent” was released to theaters across the country with a less than spectacular reception. It seems that Hollywood had its intentions set on busting out film after film of dystopian action and romance until the minds of teenagers can no longer envision a future that is peaceful and without destruction in its wake.
The second installment of “The Divergent Series” follows immediately where its predecessor left off. Shailene Woodley and Theo James star as Tris Prior and Four, Divergent fugitives in a society that they cannot conform to because they do not fit into the structured factions that have been set before them. The couple struggle to find sanctuary before the inevitable happens; the destruction of their post apocalyptic Chicago society. Sides are chosen and a civil war becomes a real threat. Jeanine Matthews, the head of Erudite faction, believes the only way to fix their society is to use Divergents to understand the intentions of the Founders, before she eradicates the Divergents.
The film’s most prominent downfall is the lack of direction that plot has. Tris and Four seem to wander from faction to faction to find a place to hide from Erudite until they decide forming an army will be a necessity to fight Jeanine. Until they come to this obvious decision that the audience could see coming a mile away, the film is filled with unimportant fluff that is unnecessary to the plot.
The highlight of this predictable film, however, is the masterful performance by Shailene Woodley as Tris. She brings a vulnerability to a character thrust into a war she wanted no part of, and the emotion Woodley conveys through Tris is remarkable. Theo James, however, remains the one-dimensional and uninteresting character he was in the first film. The romance incorporated into this dystopia between Tris and Four seems bland and lacks true emotion. The focus is truly on Tris and the sacrifices she is willing to make that may cost her her life, but will ensure the safety of the society she once loved.
The film does boast extraordinary special effects, as the simulations Tris endures at the hands of Jeanine Matthews are action packed are keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Tris must watch as her entire world crumbles into chaos and oblivion around her, and comes face to face with her worst enemy in a fight that is heart stopping.
Fans of Roth’s bestselling novels should be pleased with the adaptation, although “Insurgent” certainly doesn’t outrank “Divergent” in terms of quality. “The Divergent Series” still needs to find its own spot among the world of young adult literature and films, and I very much hope that the next movie, entitled “The Divergent Series: Allegiant – Part 1” will help this series find its place among the others that outshine “The Divergent Series”.
