Written by James M. Tate / 3/18/2016 / No comments / franchise , miles teller , shailene woodley
DIVERGENT SERIES: 2014-2016
Reviews of DIVERGENT, INSURGENT and DIVERGENT SERIES ALLEGIANT PART ONE 2014-2016 |
KILL BILL |
That, when it comes down to it, can all be blamed on the goblin-faced (yet formerly brilliant) Quentin Tarantino: after he told the Weinstein boys to split KILL BILL in half, the last films of the final doomed teen movie adaptations have had two sections. So here, instead of just a review of the latest, THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT PART ONE, we'll go back and re-blog the entire franchise, thus far, in order, so that the only place to find anything DIVERGENT-related will be here and here only. And when the next (final?) one comes out, it too will be added... Hoping this works for the growing Millennial audience...
2014 DIVERGENT |
To delve into all the faction titles would be a waste of time, especially since the source material fans are way ahead of those unaware of the ingredients that make this adaptation work or not… So let's just review the film by itself, for Dummies, unread. The important group is Dauntless, which are basically the police and/or military, and our humble heroine, Tris, secretly a “Divergent,” meaning she doesn’t fit into any category and could provide a threat to the government, is set to join ranks with the fearless warrior clan. Thus, most of the story has Tris going through extreme tests, both physical and mental, to become a Dauntless member: like the shyest kid in school joining the Marines. And in the leading role, DESCENDANTS starlet Shailene Woodley turns in a good if subdued performance (rather bland compared to her Oscar Snubbed role in the Alex Payne film) while love-interest Theo James as "Four," a hard-nosed trainer, really stands out in the acting department, displaying a robotic, militaristic persona that progressively chisels down into a vulnerable guy, without being sappy or predictable.
Doomed romance is very popular with teens |
Forget that Oscar Snub |
Overall, DIVERGENT is entertaining yet occasionally goes too deep over non-reader’s heads, sporadically veering into seemingly pointless subplots, meant only for later installments while the climax is stretched about twenty minutes too long. And on a philosophical level, it’s interesting how kids today are enlightened by authors influenced by the likes of George Orwell as opposed to the fantastical HARRY POTTER or TWILIGHT craze. Perhaps the depiction of a “dystopian” society, where youth means everything, caters to the intense narcissism of young adults, while the romantic element of sacrifice works primarily for female audiences: After all, no matter what the genre, escapism is everything!
2015 INSURGENT |
For those who hardly remember DIVERGENT, which came out last year but seems several years old given all the teenage Dystopic future tales including THE MAZE RUNNER and all the HUNGER GAMES, here's a quick summary: A controlled society is broken up into groups aka fractions embodying those with brains and those with muscle and wits… Meanwhile, a Divergent is an extremely rare case, tapping into all the elements… Kind of like, Jedis or something...
"The series isn't so spectacular now." |
Starting out with a barrage of terrific action sequences including a fight on a fast-moving train, we’re given this visual storm only because of the long, tedious calm that follows: involving Tris hooked up to a dream machine called a “Sim” (for Simulator) that helps villainous Jeanine, played by TITANIC starlet Kate Winslet, look into her powers, or to discover if she has any… or something. But alas, much of the film involves dreams or simulations from said machine, and with so much expository information benefiting readers of the books over anyone needing to be reminded of the last (first) venture, INSURGENT isn’t even entertaining enough for a cable television series, which this franchise may be more suited for.
2016 ALLEGIANT PART ONE |
Apoc Now |
Thus, everything is set up to be a beyond-perfect paradise, and their only mission is to recover lost children, who wind up actually being... well that's a big spoiler all on its own, and becomes apparent way too soon for the movie to gain suspense to equal the fight and/or chase scenes, mostly involving sleek helicopters (so that APOCALYPSE NOW reference wasn't in vain after all, yet the machines look more BLUE THUNDER).
Old People Suck |
Trust him? |
Like in THE HUNGER GAMES and all those other adaptations, the kids were born into some form of, in their eyes, "normal" slavery that just cannot, and, as more information is gathered, simply will not last forever...
For in all these popular novels, youth is literally wasted on the young, and damn if they don't want to have some fun and stop following so many orders, forced to do what adults want them to after "high school"... kinda like real life. So write a popular set of teenage novels, become super rich, and have total freedom and happiness: and therein lies the meaning of life.
RATINGS: DIVERGENT: ***1/2 INSURGENT: *1/2 ALLEGIANT PART ONE: **
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