I have been waiting for this movie since I first read the book and found out they were doing a movie, and now I wish they hadn't released it. It's not fully finished. It's really just a garble of scenes that played together make no sense and completely ruin the source material.
Divergent has been on shaky ground with me since I finished the last book, those of you who have read the last book will understand why, but I was still looking forward to the film version. Unfortunately, I found the film version completely and utterly flawed. I know the age old saying, "books are always better than the film" but you can still have a good film adaptation in the right hands. Divergent was in the wrong hands. My view may be biased, having just taught the novel to my 9th graders but the amount of changes done to the film adaptation make it a poor representation of the novel.
Some scenes and quotes are present - "have you never seen a hamburger before" "Be brave" - but the story gets all tangled up and the meaning behind events are lost in translation. The aptitude test is all wonky - the choice should have been between cheese or a knife not a slab of meat. What was the reasoning behind that change? Little changes like that build up into a snowball and ruin the remainder of the film. The stages of initiation are chaotic and there are too many people involved. Tris doesn't get to beat up Molly after having her towel taken from her which is a crucial scene in her character development. Peter doesn't stab Edward in the eye with a butter knife - which would have been a wicked scene. Al's death means nothing because the relationship he wants with Tris isn't present in the movie and her rejection of him isn't present. Visiting Day doesn't make an appearance which sets the way for the second and third books, and instead Tris sees her mom in a rushed scene. Divergent is something everyone knows about, which isn't true in the novel. And don't even get me started on the absent Uriah.
I understand that films can never be the book, but Divergent loses its charm. There is no character development. The only character who I felt fit the novel version was Four, of course I think he was written horribly and so fit the stunted version of himself in the film.
I think part of the trouble was trying to do too much too quick. Although maybe quick isn't such a good term because this film dragged on and on. The sign of a good film is one leaving you wanting more and unaware of the time passing or your surroundings. I was aware. They complicated the story much more than they had to. If they had stuck to the story as written I think it would have gone smoother instead of trying to fit in a scene here and there and then try to weave it all together.
From the very beginning of the film I was on edge when it opened on a deserted ship. They go through all the trouble of creating a CGI abandoned ship which does nothing to further the plot or help tell the story. Likewise what was with that fence? It's suppose to be locked from the inside, again foreshadowing events to follow. Overall it felt like a cafeteria movie, picking bits and pieces of the book to form some semblance of a meal.
The only redeeming factor was Theo James as Four giving the audience something pretty to listen to and look at for the otherwise wasteful two-and-a-half hours.
