enough action to cover up lack of character development

Rating: 6/10 (24 October 2014)

This film, based off of the YA best-selling novel, is one of the biggest adaptations to hit theaters since The Hunger Games. Originally when reading the book, the first thing that came to mind was that it's story would be much better told through the medium of film. After seeing the film, I still stand by my original thoughts. Action-packed, quick-paced, and full of suspense, this film does a nice job of covering up the cheesy dialogue and lack of character development. In adventure stories such as this one, we -- the viewers -- expect to see the characters go through some kind of transformation throughout the film. Unfortunately, in the case of the main character, Thomas, this does not happen. He remains the same throughout the entirety of the film -- bland. The characters are all incredibly cheesy and contradictory to the plot of the film. However, I did find this film somewhat enjoyable because of the quick pace, special effects, and high amounts of action that leave you gripping the edge of your seat at times. The plot is so enormous that it covers up the fact that the characters are pretty weak. Overall, I found this film to be entertaining, however I would like to see some kind of transformation and development of the characters if there are films to come -- which, seeing as this looks like it's going to be the biggest new franchise in the dystopian genre of film, I'm sure there will be.