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Divergent Movie: An All-Around A+
By Maggie Martin March 21, 2014
I’ve been very publicly excited about this movie for many many months and am very happy to announce that the Divergent movie passed the Maggie Martin book-turned-movie test. There are a few key points to my fail proof test, and I’m here to share how Divergent passed on almost every count. Yes, there will be some spoilers!
The Main Character
Shailene Woodley was incredible. She was funny, she was smart, she was believable. I know a lot of people were skeptical of her ability to play the fearless Tris Prior, but I think she did it really beautifully. She brought new things to the character that I never anticipated—she was much more loving than I originally pictured and I think that’s part of the reason her depiction was the most believable. Her love and concern for her family and others was evident which I sometimes missed from the books but I think ultimately made a stronger character on screen.
The Plot Changes
The plot changes were minimal in this adaption, the only things they really sacrificed were obvious chunks of internal monologue that wouldn’t transfer well and side line character’s development. In fact, they completely eliminated Edward from the entire thing which I think tamed the Peter (Miles Teller) character in general. Without his brutal attack on Edward we are just left thinking he’s an annoying ass and not a seriously sick and effed up person. Another way that this character development hurt the story was in Al, who barely spoke. I felt like he was another humanizing mechanism within the world of Dauntless, showing that people can’t handle it and go to desperate lengths to get out of being factionless. Our insight into Al was so minimal that I felt like his shift into trying to kill Tris and then eventual suicide was rather abrupt and didn’t quite fit the movie plotline.
Visuals
…Were incredible. I was so impressed by the world building in the movie. It was almost exactly as I pictured it and then some. The costuming was on point and I was in love with Dauntless headquarters. Especially the scene where they’re in the tattoo parlor. I read a little about the set design in the People Magazine Divergent special edition and the set designer said “it had to be a cool version of a slightly futuristic tattoo parlor. The artwork on the walls are tattoo designs.” It was so neat to see the places that only existed in your mind come to life in front of you. I was more impressed with this set design than the first Hunger Games to be honest.
Character Chemistry
Theo James was the perfect person to play Four. I think at first I was concerned that he was so much older than Shailene Woodley and that it wouldn’t be believable, but he was Four to a T. He was strong, and caring, and really really sexy. He and Shailene Woodley played well off each other and it felt natural. Another important chemistry had to be between Tris and Christina (Zoe Kravits) which I think played out well, too. But, most important was the relationship between Tris and her mother (Ashley Judd). SUPER SPOILER if you haven’t read the novel, but the scene where Natalie Prior dies saving Tris I sobbed. I wasn’t expecting to cry at all in this movie, but Shailene Woodley ripped out my heart in that scene. If she could do that in an action film I can’t even imagine sitting through The Fault In Our Stars. God she’s good.
All in all, I give the movie 5 stars. It’s one of the best adaptions I’ve ever seen and I would 100% recommend everyone to go see it who loves The Hunger Games or any other Dystopian YA fiction.
Need something else to read now that you’re finished with Divergent? Check out The Maze Runner by James Dashner which is coming to theaters in September and stars one of my all-time faves Dylan O’Brien from Teen Wolf!
