“Insurgent:” Slows Down the Divergent Series

No “surge” in excitement for fans of the book

“Insurgent” is the second movie installment in the Divergent trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth. This adventurous love story is about a girl named Tris (Shailene Woodley), who is on the run with her boyfriend, Four (Theo James). Both are members of one of post apocalyptic, dystopian Chicago’s five factions, a system that went corrupt in the previous movie. The Divergents are “dangerous” individuals that fit into more than one faction, which threatens to destabilize the faction system. Both Tris and Four are divergent in different degrees. They are trying to escape the clutches of Jeanine (Kate Winslet), the ruthless leader of Erudite, another faction trying to gain control over the system. The first movie leads right into the second where Tris and Four travel through Chicago to try to gain the help of the other factions.

In “Insurgent” Tris and Four find themselves housed with the faction Amity. They are a peace loving faction that lives to give, to be kind, and to give to others. This is a change of scenery for Tris and Four who are from Dauntless, the law center of the faction system, and the complete opposite of Amity. Once found, they travel all over Chicago to live with the faction-less (those who don’t belong to any faction) and with Candor who always tell the truth. They face many challenges that keep them from defeating Jeanine who is trying to harness the powers of Divergents for her own uses.

“Insurgent” isn’t “all that.” It’s quite different from the book. Director Robert Schwentke, takes a new direction that might be a disappointing to fans of the book series. The actors and actresses put their all into it, but that does not save the movie. Compared to the book and the outstanding ratings of the first installment, “Insurgent” is a step back. It is long and dragged out until the end. On the positive side, the effects are fantastic. Some of the most bizarre scenes almost came to life through the digital mastery.

If you think you might be interested in seeing “Insurgent,” wait to see on TV, this subpar movie is not worth paying money to see in theaters. But, you might want to catch it before “Allegiant,” the third installment in the series, comes out next March.