Not quite the quality of The Hunger Games, but still have its own persona and unique setting...

Rating: 7/10 (20 March 2014)

Not quite the quality of The Hunger Games, but still have its own persona and unique setting. The story takes time to find its feet, and while the action sequences was great, the vast number of characters kind of put things in the mix for this decent young adult novel adaptation.
The world felt a bit weird and extreme at first, and it takes time before we can finally believe and be immersed in the world. Meanwhile, story-wise was great in the bigger picture, but the first half of the film was all about Dauntless and so it flows in a very narrow scope. Afterwards, the bigger picture is revealed, when we finally realize the significance of "Divergent" characters, and the scale of the conflict. That's when the story kind of takes a hard turn and get going for a full blast finale.
The vast number of characters makes it hard to follow most of the supporting characters, making things a little confusing, all the while making us less caring for them. Yet, this also means that we can kind of like the main protagonists. With all the different kind of characters, those we want to hate, those we don't care for, leaving us with the main protagonists to like and root for. This is perhaps the reason why we can care for them emotionally, despite the less emotional nature of the unfolding plot. The first half of the film has no drama for us to feel, while in the second, there was too much of drama where we end up getting lost emotionally (in the end, all I care about is the two main protagonists).
The visuals were great, and so were the action sequences, supported by a decent soundtrack with some very likable themes as well. The villain of the film was interesting on its own & fresh for a new franchise like this, and the acting by Kate Winslet was also brilliant, but to be frank, they will need a more threatening & challenging villain if they are to up the stakes for the sequels (truthfully, it is well decided in the novels already, but given that I don't read them, I cross my fingers that the next villain will prove more challenging). The twist towards the end is interesting, and quite a nice touch as well. Meanwhile, the ending felt much too abrupt and unfinished, and it just begs of a sequel to come fast.
VERDICT:
Good: Great visuals & action, Decent soundtrack, Unique setting, Vast array of characters (mixed)
Bad: Takes time to find its feet, Abrupt ending
SCORE: 7.0
(blockbusted9.blogspot.com)