There’s no amity and nothing dauntless about the candour in my abnegation of Divergent in this erudite review.

If anything should give studios pause for thought in their headlong rush to acquire and produce whatever superhero or comic book titles are available, it’s the troubled and distinctly patchy success rate of ‘young adult’ fiction adaptations. The film of Veronica Roth’s novel “Divergent” is, like “The Maze Runner”, one of the recent few to have actually succeeded in delivering sufficient profit to produce a sequel. “The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones” and “Beautiful Creatures” were not so fortunate, and it’s hard to see why this limp and nonsensical dystopian adventure was spared their fate.

In a post-apocalyptic future, a dystopian society is divided into castes, in a walled city, where each caste is responsible for a particular aspect of society. There are a small minority who are casteless and left to fend for themselves. Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) is due to be tested to find out where her future lies – only to discover that she has a rare and dangerous affinity for any and all of the factions. Choosing a faction, Tris starts to uncover a dangerous conspiracy and has to strive to prevent one faction from coming to dominate them all.

There’s very little original in the world-building of “Divergent”, indeed the factions and their naming conventions seem to have more to do with flicking through the thesaurus to see what words haven’t been trademarked yet than for any linguistic or narrative value. Although the factions are named Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candour (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent), their behaviours seem to have little connection to their supposed natures. Dauntless, especially, seem less brave and more like reckless, irresponsible adrenaline junkies. The whole foundation of the society is so nonsensical as to critically undermine any suspension of disbelief and, unfortunately, for a so-called action movie, not enough happens to keep you distracted from the plot holes and contrivances needed to keep the story moving. Unfortunately, archly allegorical storytelling which works on the page often doesn’t translate so well to the screen.

The cast is adequate but bland, Theo James plays the square-jawed hero well and Woodley essaying her very best ‘Katniss-lite’ as the dull and uninspiring heroine. Jai Courtney, with his usual subtlety, scowls and pouts his way around a set which looks like a half-assembled Lego model of Zion’s dance cave from “The Matrix” while Kate Winslet provides the most fun as you try to spot all the camera tricks they used to disguise the fact she was pregnant during the filming.

Director Neil Burger brings it all together on screen in decent fashion, but it’s too similar to a half a dozen other films for it to feel anything but tired and drab. It may be that “Divergent” suffered from ‘Pilot Episode syndrome’ and the unfolding of the story in following instalments will have more substance, action and cohesiveness to them, but after this drab an opener they’ve got a lot to do.

divergent review
Score 4/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Doctor Who: The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos Review

Doctor Who: The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos Review

The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos proves that even newer villains can feel a bit long in the tooth Shirt watch: blue. Well, here we are: "The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos", the season finale, the capstone to the 13th Doctor’s first set of adventures. Time to...

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter (2024) Review

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter (2024) Review

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter doesn't raise the stakes enough. There’s a simple, primal appeal to The Last Voyage of the Demeter. A single location, a creeping sense of doom, and a monster slowly picking off an isolated crew - it’s practically Alien at sea, but with Dracula instead of a...

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022) Review

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022) Review

Raimi red-lines the rating limits in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Although it pays lip service to the ongoing ramifications of The Blip, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS is the first of Marvel’s Phase Four films to exist outside the shadow of the many...

Robot And Frank (2013) Review

Robot And Frank (2013) Review

Robot & Frank brings us a new slant on silver surfers “Robot And Frank” is an utterly charming, bittersweet film about themes. Anchored by a masterfully gentle performance by Frank Langella, “Robot And Frank” explores the cruelty of dementia while also exploring the impact...

The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Review

The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Review

The Man With The Golden Gun fires blanks Encouraged by the success of “Live And Let Die” and the public’s embracing of Roger Moore’s take on 007, United Artists were keen to keep up the momentum and pressed Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to fast track the next Bond movie...

Dom Hemingway (2013) Review

Dom Hemingway (2013) Review

I wanted a better f**king present than this. "Dom Hemingway" is a film which struggles to live up to the promise of its blisteringly funny, aggressive and chaotic trailer. It suggests a cracking, foul-mouthed crime caper with Jude Law having an absolute blast as crazy, charismatic...

A Walk Among The Tombstones (2014) Review

A Walk Among The Tombstones (2014) Review

There's nothing peaceful or relaxing about taking A Walk Among The Tombstones "A Walk Among The Tombstones" is no vacuous retread of the rambunctious “Taken” series nor is it implausible action nonsense like “Non-Stop”. Neeson lays aside the superhero persona here to deliver a...

Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018) Review

Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018) Review

I don’t need a truth serum to tell you Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018) is great. Released as their 20th movie, in their 10th Anniversary year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that “Ant-Man And The Wasp” is reassuringly reliable entertainment, exactly what we’ve come to expect...