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Mar 25, 2014 By Zach Hollwedel Web Exclusive

In a post-war dystopian future, society is divided into five different factions, each representing a human virtue. Responsible for separate functions, the factions work collectively to ensure a productive and peaceful society, one that will never have to see war again. As a right of passage, teenagers must choose a faction, which will be their social group for the remainder of their lives. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) has grown up as a member of the selfless Abengation faction, yet when it’s her turn to choose, she foregoes her family and opts to join Dauntless, the brave soldiers responsible for protecting the city. As a clandestine group works to undermine the precarious balance between the factions, it becomes harder and harder for Tris to maintain her life-threatening secret. She doesn’t belong to any faction: she is Divergent.

Divergent takes its time in setting up the story and – frankly – future installments in the series. Tris spends most of the film in training to become a full-fledged Dauntless. Training involves multiple sparring sessions, shooting practices, and trips into induced waking nightmares from which she must extricate herself. These sessions soon begin to feel repetitive; combine them with multiple montages that crescendo with pumped up instrumental music and one wonders what was left on the editing room floor. Fans of the books will no doubt find much to be thrilled by – and likely many Easter eggs – in the movie, but the uninitiated might be left wondering when the action will finally begin. The basic premise is simple enough, but certain fundamental questions about the faction system remain unanswered. Why have these specific five virtues been chosen? Why must the factions remain separate? Why is it so bad to be Divergent? Presumably, the sequels will shed more light on the mysteries of the world, but at close to two and a half hours, Divergent has plenty of room to trim the fat while answering these – and other – questions.

divergentthemovie.com

Author rating: 4.5/10