Fizzling Form of Flattery

Rating: 1/10 (21 March 2014)

I've decided to go back and give "Divergent" a second opportunity so I could appreciate all the great things I had heard about it, its story, action, acting, and how it worked so well that we could expect sequels to let us partake of more of this trio of novels by Roth.
After sitting through more than two hours of something that supposedly happens in the not so far future, a dystopian society where the government has decided to divide into four sections, which depend on the citizens' qualities, and because now there's harmony and everything runs smoothly, peace has been achieved, or so we are made to believe.
To be fair, there are good things in the movie, and because they are pretty good, it's only appropriate to give credit where it is due. Ms Kate Winslett once again proves to the world the lady can handle just about any acting job you give her. In "Divergent" she's the leader of one of the sections, and she looks and acts the part. In fact, she's so convinced she's so perfect for her job, she takes on the job of improving what's already a perfect society, and every time, balance is off, someone is going to suffer. Winslett is cold, efficient, imposing, and pretty good in her "Divergent" persona. She's already played aristocrats ("Titanic"), interestingly, she's also given us a chance to witness her talents as a member of the lower classes, too, when she throws caution to the wind and joins Jack in the same film. Even better, she's proved that she can survive in a world where a totalitarian leader takes over, without questioning anything about it ("The Reader"). Here she's nothing else than a very smart and sophisticated cold mass assassin, and she gives us a performance to relish, a performance that shines and stands over the rest because there's very little else in this film to call worthy.
And yet, there is Ashley Judd, badly cast as the rebel mother who surprises us with her stealthy moves, as a survival soldier who sacrifices her stability to save her family. She tries really hard with that steely core of hers to give her character substance, but the role is so ludicrous and poorly written that I couldn't help laughing instead of feeling devastated in her big scene. I remembered how much I have loved in much better material.
Now, on to "Divergent"... The material suffers from the lack of originality. We've seen this before in much better guise in more entertaining films, and sadly, the other trio of books and films have come out not long ago. The setting is the future, the masses have been oppressed, and the revolutions have started... Does that sound familiar? In addition to that a few other authors must be wondering why other people just borrow without even trying to hide the fact. At least in the case of Potter, the references were elegant, more of a good tribute, and having those phrases in Latin or something like that, makes the whole experience more palatable. It doesn't hurt that the characters are indeed much better written. One certainly wishes there was more magic in "Divergent".
In addition to the fact that we are dealing with an unoriginal and paradoxically slow action film, full of noise, a loud and disturbing score that doesn't support but impedes our enjoyment of the muddy photography and the very interesting editing techniques, we have two leads that have absolutely no chemistry and a leading character that seems to believe that strength equals a vacant look. There's no transformation from whatever it is supposed to be at first, insecurity, indecision, confusion, to the hardened, both physically and psychologically scarred heroine. It's problematic because the entire premise rests on this transformation, and as pretty as the lead is, there's definitely not much of a heroic soul here. Anyone can hold an automatic gun and pretend they are a good shoot, but we have no Daniel Craig, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, or anyone involved in the Marvel Universe here. They're both fictional, too, and much better written, performed and realized.
I was having a bit of a problem with the setting of the story. Instead of leading through an hour of training sessions and escapades, and a very confusing testing session, I was hoping that someone would explain that train. Why does it keep running? What's going on with the way this society allows the people that don't to wander around? Why are some places to high tech, looking so futuristic, but we have other residences that could pass for Amish in the way they are portrayed? Someone wasn't really doing much to create a believable universe.
I couldn't help comparing this film with another one where people engage in the deception of the masses through entertainment but have to become resourceful in order to survive, and there are flashes of social instability that eventually germinate into chaos and revolution. It does help that there is a more solid script and a main character that shows her flaws, her troubles, her growth, and her steel core with her acting, instead of a narration that well, helps get me confused and distracted me to the point I thought I was narcoleptic.
Enter at your own risk. If you see this, you might not need that mind controlling serum after all.