Loved It!

Rating: 10/10 (22 March 2014)

It's been a rough year for YA film adaptations. Some have disappointed, others just flopped due to too narrow of an audience. Fortunately, for fans of the Divergent series, this doesn't disappoint and has the potential to be a blockbuster action film whether you've read the books or not.
There is much to say about this movie and tough to do so without going all fan-girl while doing so. I loved the book series and couldn't have been more pleased when I found out a movie adaptation was on the way. The casting was just about perfect, especially when you look at the two leads, Shaliene Woodley and Theo James. Their chemistry is off the charts, starting from their relationship as instructor/trainee and beyond. Woodley, who is everywhere these days, captures the character of Tris as I imagined her, taking her from the supposedly meek Abnegation daughter and growing into the strong leader of Dauntless. That she does so seamlessly is a testament to her acting. James, as Dauntless leader Four, takes the character beyond my expectations. He's sexy as hell in a quiet, sensitive, tortured way. Physically, he outshines everyone on screen, doing all of his own stunts and fighting which allows the character to jump off the screen. The rest of the casting was fine, Jai Courtney is intensely scary as Eric, Zoe Kravitz does a nice job as Christina. I love Miles Teller, and he does a decent job as Peter, Tris's nemesis, but he's the last person I'd expect in this role. Bottom line is that most of the secondary characters really take a backseat to the mains. At 2 1/2 hours, I'd say there just wasn't a way to tell the story and develop every character without compromising the movie.
The movie itself is exciting, hitting all the important parts of the book. It's a tough job to sell a story that has a huge amount of background detail (what are the factions, how did Chicago end up as it is, why the animosity between factions, etc.). And, it's a fine line to walk when half your audience knows all of this and the other half sees the screen as a clean slate. Personally, I think the screenwriters hit the mark almost perfectly and what isn't developed in Divergent will be better explained in Insurgent.
The action sequences are fantastic and believable, from the first jump off the train to the iconic zip line ride through Chicago.
Whether you've read the book or not, this is a movie for everyone. If you like a story of finding out who you are and where you belong, regardless of how difficult the path is, Divergent hits the mark, regardless of your age. I've no doubt I'll see this again!