One Flaw

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2014)

Overall the film is pretty spot on in terms of plot, characters, and the atmosphere created in the novels. One major flaw, it's simply too damn long. For me, I read the entire series, and I went into the film with low expectations. Happy to say that the film surprised me a few times, but after the 100 minute mark I lost interest. The film shouldn't have been so stretched out, seeing as they could have cut or even condensed certain unnecessary scenes like some of the mindless banter between Tris and friends, or even the first dining hall scene. I've found that those who have read the book agree with me. Thise who haven't enjoyed the pace because it made the film easy to follow and understand. So it's a win lose for viewers.
In terms of technical, well I'm not that big a fan of some of the CGI, there are times when you can go "oh this is definitely fake" but all in all not a bad job. One of my favorite shots is when Tris is walking down the hallway to the main control room. Nice classic directioning and movement. I won't get too in detail seeing as most of you who read this probably haven't taken a film studies class before.
I'd recommend this film, but only to those who have 3 hours to kill. Add up the 140 minutes of film and the inane previews and that's a grand total of about 160 minutes. Sad to say I actually popped my headphones in and started jamming because I just got so damn bored. Still the film is pretty good. Just try not to fall asleep.