The much anticipated second installment of the “Divergent” series, “Insurgent,” hit theaters March 20, 2015 in another thrilling movie. However beware “Divergent” book lovers, this movie has some major changes from the book to the movie screen.
The movie picks up right where “Divergent” left off in the dystopian Chicago city where citizens are divided into five factions based on their personalities; Dauntless the brave, Erudite the intelligent, Candor the honest, Abnegation the selfless and Amity the peaceful. Tris (Shailene Woodley) and her boyfriend Four (Theo James) are fugitives from Dauntless on a mission to take down the leader of Erudite, Jeanine (Kate Winslet), after they were blamed for being behind the attacks on the Abnegation.
Jeanine is on the hunt for those that are Divergent (people who identify with all five factions) to open up a secret box that was left behind from their founders that could only be opened once a Divergent completed all five “sims” based on the factions.
The visuals throughout the movie are stunning. The set design really gives the audience a feel of what a dystopian Chicago looks like. Since the audience is well acquainted with the factions, we get to see a lot more fighting from Tris and Four and the rest of the Dauntless. The fight sequences are thrilling and action-packed that keeps the audience wanting more.
However this movie lacked character development that left the audience not really getting to know much of the new characters that are introduced in the movie. Johanna (Octavia Spencer) is the leader of Amenity and plays a bigger role in the books than she does on screen. The audience hardly gets to know Johanna, who in the books decides to leave Amity to join the cause against stopping Jeanine. Marcus (Ray Stevenson) who is Four’s father plays in pivotal role in the books in helping Tris uncover what is in the box, barely has any role in the movie. He is in the first part of the movie and then we don’t see him through the rest of the film. The fall out between Tris and her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) seemed rushed and when Tris finally confronts Caleb it doesn’t feel quite of a betrayal as it was portrayed in the books.
Woodley’s acting is dry in the movie. We see her feel guilt for killing her friend Will in “Divergent” who was under a “sim” but her acting comes across whiny, than it does a girl grieving over having to live with killing her friend. The audience doesn’t really get to see any other emotions from Tris other than being mad, or being sad. This is Winslet’s first sequel and she did not disappoint at the callused and calculated leader of Erudite. James steps into the role of leading man, showing his strength as a fearless leader, and his softer side for his love for Woodley’s character.
A movie-goer does not need to read the books prior to watching this movie. The plot is easy enough to follow and though is it rushed, everything does fall together and keeps it entertaining. Although the ending is completely changed from the book to the movie, “Insurgent” find its own way to set up the third book/movie “Allegiant.”
For those that have not read the books before watching the movie, will enjoy the action, fighting and the romance between Tris and Four. For those that have, well, keep in mind that it is an “adaptation” of the book.