Not Bad

Rating: 6/10 (22 May 2014)

Making films for teenagers is easy but at the same time really difficult. First off the things they are interested in are pretty basic, adventure, love, school, mythology and themselves. Okay so it's one thing to make a film that appeals to teenagers, they have to make it successful too for that you need a good basis. That's how we got to Veronica Roth's trilogy that Lions Gate snapped up. Divergent was a good choice, than vampires, because the topic isn't only for teen girls. Since Twilight making films from YA books became popular but just ends up being another useless teen trend. The problem isn't that they make it to film, but with the quality of the films. Okay so how does Divergent stack up. The story: It's a futuristic Chicago, society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Erudite (the intelligent) and Dauntless (the brave), people are sorted based on their aptitude tests. Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) has grown up in Abnegation, the faction that is selfless and runs the government, though she has always been fascinated by Dauntless. Each year, 16-year olds undergo a serum-based aptitude test that indicates the faction into which they would best fit, and informs their choice at the Choosing Ceremony. Beatrice takes the test with Dauntless woman as her proctor. Her test shows attributes of several factions, meaning she is Divergent. Tori records her result as Abnegation, and warns her to keep the true result secret, telling her that since Divergents can think independently and the government cannot control their thinking, they are considered threats to the social order. The next day at the Choosing Ceremony Beatrice chooses Dauntless. After the brutal training we find out more and more about the problems in this perfect world and there is a love story too. The film is based on an interesting world, that I think is a good basis for a film and carries us through the first half hour of the film, but there is no social critique even though it could have been included. Beatrice unfortunately doesn't compare to the many layers of Katniss' personality. The rest of the characters make the film interesting. One of the biggest positives of the film is that even though there is a love story it's not too important. I didn't read the book but apparently they changed it a little but I don't think that hurt the film, but there are 2 things wrong with it. 1: it's 2 ½ and if you haven't read it it's not interesting, apart from the first ½ getting to know the world and the end it was boring a few times during the middle. The other mistake: Is the lack of drama, it could have used more seriousness, blood maybe something scary even at the expense of a higher rating. All in all Divergent is one of the better YA adaptations. It's not as good as Hunger Games, but much better than a few flops out there. And it has an actress to rival Jennifer Lawrence who was good in The Spectacular Now. I give it a 6/10. https://www.youtube.com/user/silverscreenreviews1