Insurgent | Movie Review

It seems that every teen-fiction book series is being adapted into a blockbuster worthy movie franchise nowadays. As The Hunger Games laughs all the way to the bank every title on the bookshelf is now leaping onto the big-screen with varying amounts of success. Insurgent, the second instalment in Veronica Roth's fantasy trilogy, is one of such titles.

To summarise the world has been split into five communities (sound familiar?) based upon traits such as truth, wisdom, selflessness, bravery and peace. Everyone is sorted into these factions. However there are people who defy the sorting process who test positive for more than one trait, hence the title of Divergent. The movie follows the struggles of Tris Prior, a Divergent, who slowly begins to uncover a dark plot that will change the lives of the factions forever.

One thing I must note to all who have read the books, expect a lot of it to be cut out. The majority of the minor characters that feature in Insurgent have been completely ignored. Even to the point where one character hasn't even been introduced to the audience yet five minutes later Tris is calling after him like they've met a thousand times previous. 

What's more is the plot lines are not very developed. Instead of being clear cut in some of the simplest parts of the movie it becomes convoluted with unnecessary fight scenes and stunted scripting.

On a more positive note the acting has certainly progressed from the first movie. Shailene Woodley portrays Tris with the ferocity and no-nonsense attitude required for her character to be truly believable. The way in which she has transformed to meek and mild to untamed and wild makes for an intriguing female lead that doesn't depend on crying for the majority of the movie (I'm looking at you Jennifer Lawrence). 

Similarly the action sequences and special effects are certainly worth the ticket price. Whether it's bursting through glass in slow motion or the matrix style simulation scenes it makes the sci-fi aspect of the movie quite immersive. 

Overall this movie doesn't deserve to be slated. But the problem is the positives only just make up for the negatives. To most watchers it's slow to develop and the plot requires much more depth than it is given. Perhaps this YA fantasy world is just too intricate to fully translate on the big screen. 

6/10