Divergent Movie (2014)

Title: Divergent

Year: 2014

Director: Neil Burger

Rating (by the MPAA): PG-13 for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some sensuality

Official Synopsis: DIVERGENT is a thrilling action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader (Kate Winslet) to destroy all Divergents, Tris must learn to trust in the mysterious Four (Theo James) and together they must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late.

Official Page and IMDb Page

STEPH SAID

Rating:

Review:

I watched this movie before reading the book. I hadn't even watched the trailer before I watched it, so, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I just knew it was a movie based on a big YA novel. The movie was also big enough to spawn the sequels. I knew I needed to watch it. At first, I was really confused about all the different names: Abnegation, Erudite, Amity etc. I couldn't remember what each of them stood for; which name was which group. Not even the colors helped. However, when Tris joined Dauntless the names became less important.

This movie is such a close adaptation of the book, that I might as well copy and paste the book review. My feelings and thoughts about the story are the same, whether it is in book form or movie form. That's why I decided to focus on the differences between the movie and the book. The movie improved some  things (like using “neuro-stim darts” in capture the flag), but damaged others that were perfect.

Mashing up the fear landscapes was one of the best time-saver changes the movie made. In the book the mental/emotional training is divided into two parts. For the first part initiates go into the fear landscape and try to control their emotions. During the second part, they need to confront their fears. The movie mixed these two training sessions into one, saving time, and pushing the initiates to the limit.

The main plot of the movie –

the Abnegation attack, led by Erudite

– saw a better ending in the movie than in the book. In the movie, the simulation was stopped, and

Jeanine's Divergence was implied. (Which would make complete sense considering her natural tendency to not conform to society and, thus, accept Abnegation's leadership.)

Whereas in the book the Dauntless soldiers are left haywire and shooting at each other, and nothing is mentioned about

whether Jeanine is Divergent, or not.

One thing I didn't like about the movie is the loss of Tris' abnegation side. She is Divergent; she has aptitude for Dauntless, Erudite and Abnegation. Even more so, she was raised as an Abnegation. Yet, she easily starts wearing tight clothes and getting tattoos, just as a an excuse to talk to someone. After reading the book I realized it is a fault of the movie. The book somewhat delves into Tris psyche and helps the reader understand the complexity of her transition from Abnegation to Dauntless.

If I had to choose between the movie and book, I will definitely choose the book. The movie is really good, its story is more compacted and action packed, yet the book's story is richer and more psychological, which makes it better in my eyes.