"Veronica Roth has crafted a compelling and well paced story that has been adapted by the incredible Neil Burger to the big screen, to give us a rich, if bleak look at a possible future"
You can be forgiven if the plethora of Young Adult novels that are turned into films, have left you feeling somewhat exhausted. However, if you don't give Divergent a chance it'll be a crying shame as you'll definitely be missing out on what is a truly entertaining feature film.
A 'Divergent' is a person who doesn't fit into the government sanctioned factions of a dystopian Chicago, at sixteen years of age on a given day, they go to get tested to see which of the five factions they belong to, each faction is dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue: Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity and Candor.
We are introduced to Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) just going about her day to day life as a member of Abnegation, that is until all that changes when during her aptitude test she is revealed to be Divergent, warned to keep it secret, Tris chooses to go into Dauntless in order to hide her identity.
It's in Dauntless that she meets Christina (Zoë Kravitz), Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), Peter (Miles Teller) and Four (Theo James) and she uncovers a plot by Erudite, led by Jeanine (Kate Winslet) to overthrow Abnegation to take control of the government.
Veronica Roth has crafted a compelling and well paced story that has been adapted by the incredible Neil Burger to the big screen, to give us a rich, if bleak look at a possible future, 100 years after a catastrophic war.
Shailene Woodley continues to show off her star power as reluctant heroine Tris, the character is fleshed out and has many dimensions to her and whilst the film will no doubt be compared to The Hunger Games, the only similarities are a strong female lead and set in a dystopian America, and where Divergent does have a love story theme to it, it is not a love triangle.
Throughout the film, the dialogue is witty and clever with a healthy sprinkling of humour, never lagging in any way.
The action set pieces are amazing too, with standout scenes being the 'war game' where Tris and Four climb Chicago's Ferris Wheel to get a better vantage point and the zip line scene is particularly thrilling, and bucking the trend, Divergent doesn't rely on 3D, instead it puts its focus on the story and remains a character driven narrative from start to finish.
The principal cast of Woodley, James, Kravitz, Teller, Lloyd-Hughes and Winslet all play their parts with conviction and believability, while the supporting cast of Jai Courtney, Mekhi Phifer, Maggie Q, Ashley Judd and Ray Stevenson also perform admirably. In fact, even the lesser used Tony Goldwyn steals the scenes he's in.
This could be the next big Young Adult franchise, if the sequel builds on what Divergent has set forth, then the potential is here for the films to just get better and better.
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