'Divergent'

I went into “Divergent” expecting another tacky young adult romance dropped in some silly sci-fi world with no real depth. But, I was pleasantly surprised.

Tris Prior lives in a post-war society that is split into five factions. There’s Erudite, the intelligent; Candor, the honest; Amity, the kind; Abnegation, the selfless; and Dauntless, the brave.

The day before choosing which faction she will live in, Tris takes an aptitude test to find where she should belong.

Tris tests into multiple factions, a rare occurrence called Divergence. Divergents are seen as a danger to society, as they are unpredictable and don’t belong to just one faction. For that, Tris could be killed.

Without a true answer as to where she belongs, Tris decides at the last second to join Dauntless.

Dauntless serves as the military. Tris and the other initiates are subjected to rigorous training, led by the gruff and mysterious Four.

Director Neil Burger dealt with this transitional period in a refreshing way. Instead of montaging the training, he lets it play out. We see the combat training, the knife throwing practice and the gun exercises.

It’s easy to forget there is a bigger story arc.

Erudite is plotting to overthrow Abnegation, the governing body of the city, and it plans to use Dauntless to do its dirty work. As a Divergent, Tris is immune to Erudite’s mind tricks and it becomes her responsibility to stop them before her former faction is eradicated.

This is not another sci-fi epic where little is lost and everything works out in the end.

There is so much tragedy and death in “Divergent” you would think “Doctor Who” and
“Sherlock” showrunner Steven Moffat had something to do with it.

You can’t have a young adult fantasy without love. There is an obvious physical attraction between Tris and Four, but their personalities clash. Their relationship forms through time spent together training and literally getting into each other’s heads.

What’s nice about their relationship is that Tris in no way is dependent on Four or what he thinks of her. She remains the strong, independent heroine, a rare occurrence in the young adult genre these days.

Shailene Woodley’s performance as Tris has changed my mind about the actress. Tris undergoes a massive character development, transforming from a reserved civil servant to a fearless soldier. Woodley had no problem keeping up.

Theo James was meant to play the boy with a dark past. Four is a complicated character who struggles with the trauma of his past while wishing to be more than what his faction represents, and James was great in portraying that.

Kate Winslet was the cherry on top of a great cast. She brought her best bitch face as Jeanine, the Erudite leader trying to overthrow Abnegation and purge the city of Divergents.

“Divergent” is a brilliant film that other young adult franchises could take a lesson from.

It’s a thrilling ride down to its final seconds.