Review 2013 by RD Clark
Divergent
Written by: Evan Daugherty, Vanessa Taylor From the novel by Veronica Roth
Directed by: Neil Burger
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Zoë Kravitz, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd plus every 18 to 22 year old actor in Hollywood.
Rated PG-13
Running time: 140 mins
In a future city-state of Chicago, everyone is divided into one of five factions…except the Factionless and the Divergent, so I guess that’s seven. When one girl goes to take her examination, she finds she doesn’t fit in, which makes her Divergent (whatever that means; they don’t really explain it all that well.)
This is one of those Young Adult movies that probably won’t appeal that much to Young Adults. For one, it has too many breaks where nothing much happens. The world-building is weak and the focus on the social aspects doesn’t quite gel, so when the deal goes down, there is no real feeling of identification with the protagonists. The main villain, such as she is, spouts incomprehensible propaganda that doesn’t do much to alienate us. And the romance was terrible.
But it is well acted and the action is almost thrilling enough to hold it up. I found myself slightly entertained, while not very engaged. At one point I had to leave for about five minutes (Triss was about to get a tattoo) and when I got back, I had apparently not missed enough to lose the narrative flow or any important plot developments..
Meh, if you need a matinee and there’s nothing else, go for it. Not terrible, just not that good. No post credit scenes.
Flytrap rating: 5/10
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