Not as good as The Hunger Games, but very compelling

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2015)

In this dystopian thriller, based on the novel series by Veronica Roth, Shailene Woodley plays Tris, a 16-year old girl living in a futuristic city divided by factions based on virtues. These factions include Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. Everyone (when they reach the age of 16) is assigned to take a psychological test that determines what faction they should join, and in the end, they are allowed to choose the faction of their choice. Tris takes the test and gets the rarest result--Divergent, which means she would not fit any particular faction. When she chooses Dauntless, she and the faction leader Four (played by Theo James) discover the plot to assassinate all who are Divergent as they seen as a threat to social order; and decide they must fight back.
To be clear, I never actually read the novel. Upon watching this, however, I found it very similar to the Hunger Games series. They both take place in a dystopian society that is divided up into factions (or districts), except there is no teenagers fighting to the death in a large arena in this one. While this wasn't as exciting and enthralling as the Hunger Games, it was very compelling and interesting to watch. The characters were great, I love how Shailene Woodley played Tris. It was a very interesting role her, especially since her role in the ABC family series "Secret Life of An American Teenager". Theo James was.........I guess okay as Four. I don't know if he was the best, but he didn't do too bad. The plot was pretty good, although it did drag a little bit in some spots. There were several scene where I started to lose interest, but when it reached it's climax, it got exciting. I enjoyed the climax towards the end, especially with Kate Winslet playing Jeanine, who is behind the whole to plot to take out the Divergents.
Divergent is a pretty decent movie, although it might have been better if I read the novel series before hand. Yes, the film has its flaws but its intriguing to watch and if you a big fan of the novel series, you'll just might enjoy it.