Divergent

Divergent - Dir. Neil Burger (2014)

"You're different. You don't fit into a category. They can't control you. They call it Divergent."

Summit Entertainment has the magic touch when it comes to turning young adult novels into blockbuster movies. While other studios have struggled to launch one franchise, Summit has been raking in the dough with Twilight and The Hunger Games. Now, the sparkly vampires have been put to pasture and the adventures of Katniss Everdeen are drawing to a close. Don't shed any tears; Summit already has their next money making machine with Divergent, based on the best-selling book series by Veronica Roth.

In the future, war ravaged mankind, but society settled into harmony by dividing its people into five different factions. Survivors have settled into the city of Chicago, now surrounded by a great wall that shields them from the untamed world. Candor is devoted to truth, Erudite to intellectual pursuits, and Amity to joy. Dauntless are the brave thrill seekers who serve as the city's security force. Abnegation is selfless. They live modestly and serve as the city's civic leaders. When the time comes, the city's children must choose their faction. Whatever their choice, they must remain in that faction, even if it means never seeing their families again. As they say, faction before blood. Those who don't fit in or wash out become factionless, the equivalent of being

Like most teenagers, Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Shailene Woodley) isn't sure where she belongs. She was born in Abnegation and her father (Tony Goldwyn) is a member of the faction's ruling council. During an Inception-style aptitude test, Tris discovers that she doesn't fit into one category, but all of them. She is Divergent and they are considered a danger to this utopian society.

At the Choosing Ceremony, Tris selects Dauntless and undergoes the rigorous training in hand-to-hand combat and knife throwing under the supervision of the sadistic Eric (Jai Courtney). Tris grows closer to another trainer, the handsome, but initially distant Four (Theo James). Together, they uncover a conspiracy by Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), leader of Erudite, who plots to use members of Dauntless to stage a coup and overthrow Abnegation.

Divergent will immediately draw comparisons to other YA adaptations as it shares many familiar concepts. The idea of factions and a choosing ceremony will recall the houses and sorting hat sequences of Harry Potter. Psychological tests involving virtual reality simulations are reminiscent of Ender's Game. At the center of it all is a special young girl who must save the entire world just like The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's nice to see Hollywood so willing to produce big blockbusters with a strong female protagonist. Without a doubt, women and teenagers are the core audience for Divergent, but other demographics might be drawn to the story.

Yes, there is a romance between Tris and Four, but it is not the central thread. More importantly, Tris is not utterly defined by her love life. She's not constantly pining for the brooding bad boy. There's enough action here to capture the attention of the males in the audience. As they did with The Hunger Games, Summit and Lionsgate hired a director known more for drama than action or sci-fi. In this case, Neil Burger, who also helmed The Illusionist and Limitless, was tapped to steer the first entry in the franchise. Burger's set pieces aren't spectacular or stylish, but he doesn't chop them into incoherence the way Gary Ross did in Hunger Games.

Divergent falters by building a foundation on top of a shaky concept. The idea of factions works as a heavy-handed metaphor for bullying, conformity, and teens struggling to find their place in the world. Yet, the notion makes less sense upon further inspection. Someone can be intelligent, but not selfless or brave? If you're happy, does that mean you can't be truthful or smart as well? Candor is the least fleshed out faction in Divergent. At least, Amity is shown to farm the fields. Maybe this is because telling everyone they DO look fat in that outfit isn't very cinematic. The pacing of Divergent takes a dip in the middle section as the film devotes a lot of time to exposition and training exercises.

On the other hand, Summit has rounded up a fine collection of young actors to elevate the staid material. Shailene Woodley is a natural in the lead role and there's good chemistry on-screen between her and Theo James. Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort, Woodley's love interests from The Spectacular Now and The Fault in Our Stars, co-star with Teller as a mean-spirited rival and Elgort as Tris's brother Caleb. There's also Zoe Kravitz as fellow Dauntless member Christina and Jai Courtney makes a great impression as the cocky and cruel Eric. Not faring as well is an assortment of established thespians who are clearly set up for larger roles in the sequels. That means Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Ashley Judd, and Tony Goldwyn aren't given a lot to do in their handful of scenes. At least, Kate Winslet gets to sink her teeth into a rare villainous role as the icy Jeanine.

At a runtime of 140 minutes, Divergent could have used a tighter pace and judicious editing as too much time is spent on building the perplexing world and its myriad of rules. Then again, I'm not the target audience. Devotees of the books will no doubt be thrilled to see all their favorite characters breathed into life.

Rating: ** (*****)