DIVERGENT: A FOUR-Way Conversation Style Movie Review

**MAJOR MOVIE SPOILER WARNING**

Gabrielle: What did you think of his fear landscape scene? Was it surprising to you that one of his fears was his father?

Tyler: It didn’t surprise me much at all, but I hated how it was handled when they were reunited later in the film.

Gabrielle: I thought that big discovery that he was Tobias Eaton wasn’t as profound as it was in the book. And I actually did like the landscape scenes, just wish that one in particular didn have the emotional punch it needed.

Melissa: That’s my favorite scene in the book, and it was such a shock. In the movie, it’s treated as “meh.”

Gabrielle: I expected Marcus and Four to have more shock and hostility on their faces when reunited.

Cachie: I was shocked but I didn’t like how their reunion was handled. Like it was all good but he was his biggest fear. I felt like maybe they should’ve had some more emotion

Melissa: How about Four didn’t really seem afraid when he was in his “fear” landscape. LOL

I guess they wanted to make it more about Tris, though.

Gabrielle: He played up the humor in the enclosed spaces part, which I liked. It added a little levity to his expression. lol

Melissa: What did you think of Shai and Kate’s dynamic?

Tyler: Who’s Kate?

Oh right! Kate Winslet was in it.

Gabrielle: Kate Winslet had the same lines in every scene. What a waste.

Tyler: Eh.

Cachie: Yeah.

Melissa: Agreed.

Gabrielle: Jai Courtney was more of a villain than she was. Even though I read the book, I completely glazed over whenever Kate spoke. Something about “human nature” being the enemy or whatever. I like when villain actually has a valid point to make, even if I don’t agree with it. Kate was clearly wrong, and she seemed too Stepford for me take anything she said seriously.

Melissa: Jai was GREAT!

Best villain in there.

Better than even Peter, who is more scary and psychotic in the book.

Gabrielle: Also, it pains me to say this all about Kate Winslet because she’s one of my favorite actresses of all time, but between this and Labor Day, Oiii… I hope the sequel (if they do one), gives her better lines.

Melissa: I’ve seen interviews with the director on how he was going to try to set Tris apart from Katniss. Because we see Tris “transform” from being meek to being a warrior. I gotta say, it didn’t feel that epic.

How do you think it played out?

Tyler: I mean, I felt there was no natural transitioning.

Every single change was abrupt.

Melissa: Example?

Tyler: I’m trying hard to think of one, but it’s not coming. haha.

Sorry about that.

Melissa: I’ll try…

Ok, so…

Tyler: But it was just an observation, there wasn’t much of a natural flow to the film in my opinion.

Gabrielle: Tris’ strongest suit is her bravery. Nothing stops her from doing the right thing. I think people link “warrior” with physical strength, which isn’t fair, especially when comparing Tris to Katniss. The film doesn’t consistently show that off about Tris.

So she’s didn’t really transition at all in the movie, IMO. Yeah, she may know how to throw a punch now, but who she is didn’t really change.

She just gained more knowledge and realized how fucked up the world she is living in is. lol

Melissa: I agree. She was brave and selfless from the beginning (from wanting to stand up to Peter to saving the little girl from the dog).

Gabrielle: Now that she knows, she’s going to do something about it. And if only the movie made that clearer, I’d be a happier Divergent fan now. lol

Melissa: LOL. Were you guys pulled in about what’s beyond the fence?

Gabrielle: No.

Tyler: Not at all.

Cachie: Negative. It wasn’t emphasized enough.

Gabrielle: No one cares about the story’s BIGGEST mystery. Just LOL.

Melissa: Me neither. Since they didn’t care, I didn’t care. Maybe that would have benefited the movie if they added that subplot, so that you’re excited for the next one.

Tyler: I still have no idea what’s beyond the fence, and the fact I haven’t even bothered to Google it says something.

Cachie: lol. Ditto.

Melissa: Agreed, Tyler.

Gabrielle: What did you think of the direction? We all agree that the script is the movie’s weakest aspect. So do you think Neil Burger helped it a bit or made it worse?

Melissa: I think he helped with the script but screwed it up in the editing room.

Tyler: It’s hard to say, nothing for me really stood out about the direction.

Melissa: BOOM

Tyler: I’d say he neither helped nor hurt the film.

Which is different from his last work, Limitless, which I think he really lifted off the page with style.

Gabrielle: Exactly! I was hoping for something like Limitless.

Melissa: Nothing stood out for how he shot it, right?

Tyler: Not at all.

Gabrielle: For a futuristic world, something a little more stylish would’ve been awesome. The color tone seemed too muted for my tastes.

The zipling and capture the flag scenes stood out visually for me. I’m from Chicago, so I did find myself taken with some of the sets. The costumes were terrible though.

Melissa: He wanted to make it light and then dark since Tris wants to be a part of that world, but I feel like it feels the same in the whole thing.

Gabrielle: Yeah, I definitely did not detect both light and darkness in the movie. Unless we’re talking day and night. lol

Melissa: LOL! What didn’t you like about the costumes, Gaby?

Gabrielle: I thought they were distracting bad. I was wondering what those pockets in Tris’ Abnegation dress were for, rather than the fact she was about to jump off a roof into a pit.

Melissa: LOL. It didn’t distract me, actually. That whole scene with jumping to the train then off the roof was great. You get a sense on how fucking crazy the dauntless are

Gabrielle: I got that when they are climbing up to the train platforms to jump on and off them. lol. They played up the Dauntless insanity well, even if it was a bit corny at times.

What did you think of Ellie Goulding being the musical voice of the movie?

Melissa: Sometimes it would kind of taking me out of the world

Gabrielle: Same, only because of how familiar I am with Ellie’s music. Although, generally I prefer just a musical score with films like this one.

Melissa: Me too, which is why I was worried when I heard there would be singing in this.

It took me out of the world, but it didn’t overshadow the whole film.

Cachie: I’m a huge Ellie fan, so I liked having her there but I see how it takes you out of that “world.” I for one did not like the zip lining scene as much as you guys did apparently. As cool as it was, it didn’t stand out to me as much.

Melissa: Well, I loved the capture the flag scene from when she’s running to the train all the way to when she has the flag with Christina. That was a nice touch. For zipline, all I could think about was Allegiant.

Gabrielle: For reasons we will not say…

Melissa: YEP

Gabrielle: So final thoughts! Yay? Nay? Who would you recommend this movie too? Or would you even recommend it to anyone? Why?

Melissa: I give it a 7 as a rating. I’d recommend it because it is entertaining even with its holes. I’d say any age group, really, could watch it.

Cachie: I would recommend it to non-book fans. It is enjoyable. I was entertained and did not feel like I was sitting in the theatre for 2.5 hours. Fans should be proud that the film was decent and enjoyable, unlike the first Twilight film in comparison to its book.

Melissa: Rating?

Cachie: 8. I really enjoyed it, especially coming in to it without reading the book and no real expectations.

Gabrielle: I say Ya-nay. I mean, I know we spent the majority of this conversation making negative points about Divergent. Frankly, the negative outshone the positive. I guess coming from a fan of the book, I knew the potential this story had for film and to see it not reach that potential is disappointing. I thought they had solid lead actors and director, but this goes to show you how a weak script can really bring a movie down. What worked in its favor, like Cachie said, it appeals to broader range of fans, outside of book’s fan base.

That’s to say I did enjoy many scenes and the movie overall; and I hope that if it does do well at the box office, they make a better movie out of the sequel. I give it a 6.5.

Melissa: That’s why I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. They were “world building” Maybe the director of Insurgent can Francis Lawrence it…

Gabrielle: I would have given it a seven, but the fact that it doesn’t do a good enough job of separating it from The Hunger Games annoys me.

Tyler: My rating is 4/10

And my final thoughts are that it has two charming leads, but it’s so poorly written and conceived that it doesn’t stand out from the pack of YA adaptations.

Gabrielle: Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts!