It wasn’t all that long ago that I wrote a Divergent review, but that was a review of the book. This is a film review.
For some reason, Divergent was only in my local cinema for a week, in the smaller theatre too. I am absolutely clueless about the reasoning for this; the books are a massive worldwide success, and so is the film, as well as being the best adaption I have seen in a long time.
People always say the books are better than the films, and I tend to agree. But not this time.
Don’t get me wrong; the books are incredible, and I’m looking forward to reading the trilogy numerous times over, but I’m also looking forward to watching Divergent on repeat, non stop as soon as the Blu-Ray arrives. There are countless reasons why I love the film; everything from the score to the actors to the special effects to the script was perfect. The plot didn’t stray too far from the book, which I always love in an adaption, and the settings were just as I had imagined them whilst reading the books.
Theo James, who plays Four, and Shailene Woodley who acts as Tris, are incredibly well cast for their parts. Theo, who’s tall, dark and handsome puts across Four’s character really well; cold and intimidating at first, but gradually warms up to Tris, letting her face his four fears with him. Shailene is as perfect for the part as Tris as Theo is for Four. She’s pretty and petite, but along with Four’s guidance, proves herself to be a real fighter.
The film itself is well done, the underscore really helping to portray the different emotions throughout the film. There are some real tear-jerking scenes, accompanied by adrenaline filled situations and the odd humorous line.
You get completely lost in the dystopian Chicago, and all the special effects are so realistic, you don’t even feel tempted to question the storyline or the realness of the surroundings and situations. Despite being more than 2 hours, it definitely doesn’t feel that long. There’s a short introduction of the faction system and how everything works in the barricaded city, then it goes straight into the heart of the film; no dilly dallying whatsoever. (I’m pretty sure that’s the technical term.)
Long story short, you need to:
1) read Divergent,
2) watch Divergent,
3) Repeat steps 1-2.
