Based on the best-selling series of young adult novels by Veronica Roth, Divergent is a science fiction action film that’s centered in a dystopian post-apocalyptic Chicago. In that world, people are divided into distinct factions designed to foster peace based on different human virtues and the entire plot revolves around this segregation of humankind.
To be more precise, the society is divided into five factions – Dauntless, for the brave ones, Erudite, the smart ones, Candor, a faction that upholds honesty, Amity, fostering peace and finally, Abnegation, for the selfless people, the faction into which the main character was born.
Starring young actress Shailene Woodley as the lead character, Tris, the movie opens strongly with an introduction to the whole faction system and then we get a closer look at Tris, her family and the biggest decision she had to make, which is to choose a faction she wants to belong with for good.
When teens reach a certain age, their personalities are tested to determine which faction would suit them best and these teens are allowed to freely choose their faction of choice. However, once decided, they are not allowed to switch factions and neither can they return to the faction they originally came from. Otherwise, they would end up faction-less and in that world, that means people equivalent to the homeless and those shunned aside.
The catch here is this – regardless of their choice of faction, the personality test doesn’t lie and you sure as hell cannot run away from your results. As Tris got tested, her results confirmed that she didn’t fit into any particular category. This also meant that she belonged to an extremely rare faction called Divergent and the society’s leaders consider Divergents as a threat to the entire faction system.
The movie progresses as Tris decides on Dauntless, thus never seeing her family from Abnegation again. The more she trains with Dauntless, the higher her chances of being discovered as a Divergent and the more dangerous it becomes for her as she is increasingly susceptible to death. For the rest of the movie, you’ll just have to watch to find out what unrolls next.
To be honest, I went into the movie without a clue and I hadn’t even seen the movie poster or heard of it at all. I expected it to be a flop, but indeed I came out quite surprised.
The movie is pretty thrilling and well-rounded. For a film that’s rated PG-13 and even though it is categorised as an action movie, there were hints of drama and romance that made the storyline more interesting. Although it didn’t have saucy sex scenes, one of the several antagonists Tris comes across during the film, Four, played by hunky British newcomer Theo James, ultimately added appeal to the movie. Four also turns out to be Tris’s love interest and the surprisingly good chemistry between the duo leaves movie goers wishing that they’d be dating in real life.They just looked so good together!
Although the two main cast (Shailene Woodley and Theo James) aren’t played by your common A-listers, they did a fantastic job with the characters in the movie. Aside from them both, the movie includes the legendary Kate Winslet who plays the villain, the sexy Maggie Q who appears on and off in the movie, and the rest of the cast worth mentioning are Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Zöe Kravitz and Jai Courtney.
Let’s just put it this way. If you found The Hunger Games thrilling, you’ll definitely enjoy this flick. Divergent is currently number one in the U.S. box office since its opening on the 21st of March and that alone attests that the movie is off to a more than amazing start. Also, sequels to the movie have already been approved by Lionsgate and are scheduled to be released in year 2015 and 2016.
You should definitely give this movie a go if you’re looking for some suspense and intrigue without it being too heavy, mind-boggling or heart-stopping. Even if you decide you don’t like it halfway through the movie, at least enjoy Theo James’ sexy accent and drool over how hot he is!
