A solid 'young adult' dystopia

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2019)

This, the first film of three, is set in a world one hundred years after a cataclysmic war. Chicago is effectively a city state and as far as anybody knows there is no civilisation beyond the city. Society is divided into five factions to which people join based on their character type. These are Abnegation, the selfless who are also the governors; Amity, the kind who farm; Erudite, the intelligent; Dauntless, the brave who form the police/army; and Candor, the honest who serve justice. At sixteen people are tested to see which faction best suits them before making the choice as to which they join. Beatrice "Tris" Prior, the daughter of Abnegation parents, is one such youngster but her tests are inconclusive... she is 'Divergent'; one with strengths in multiple areas. She is cautioned that she must hide this as Divergents are considered dangerous. The next day she joins Dauntless and begins her training; if she does badly she risks failure and being declared factionless but if she does too well she could be identified as Divergent and killed... if that weren't enough she learns that the leadership of Erudite is planning to overthrow Abnegation.
From the moment the world is described it is clear that the viewer will need to be able to suspend their disbelief... the idea that almost everybody will fit into one of the five described factions and Divergents will be rare seems unlikely. However if you can accept that the film is rather fun. The story may not provide many surprises but there are plenty of exciting moments as Tris and her fellow Dauntless recruits undergo initiations and training. There is also frequently a sense of real danger. Tris; as played by Shailene Woodley, who impressed in the role, is a fine protagonist and other key characters are solid too. The film has high production values with a realistic look and impressive effects. Some have compared this to films like 'The Hunger Games' but while there are some similarities I didn't really think about them at the time. Overall I thought this was as solid addition to the young adult dystopia genre... you certainly don't have to be a teenage girl to enjoy it. I'll certainly be watching the other films in the series.