What really gave this reviewer a pause was the lead actress Shailene Woodley as Beatrice "Tris" Prior.

Divergent

Review:mrromantic0


Synopsis:

Abnegation(The Selfless), Amity(The Peaceful), Candor(The Honest), Erudite(The Intelligent) and Dauntless(The Brave), each of these factions have certain rules and principles to follow, but each faction is vital for the survival and safety of the government those who doesn't fit into any one faction are called Divergent and are considered dangerous. Sixteen year old Beatrice "Tris" Prior was just another girl, and every time a person turns sixteen he/she gets to choose whether to transfer to another faction or stay in the one they grew on. After taking an aptitude test she later finds out that she is a Divergent not because didn't into any one faction but because she had equal test results for three which was rare. She was advised to choose a faction in order to hide what she is and was told not to tell anyone even her family or she'll be killed. Keeping that big of a secret is hard especially when your life is on the line. She later chooses Dauntless and met trainer Tobias "Four" Eaton. After a certain test Four finds out that Tris is a Divergent. Knowing that Four knows what she is, she must decide whether to trust him or not as her life depends on it.

Review:

Neil Burger has brought yet another masterpiece to the big screen, the first one being Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish and Robert De Niro. The audience are introduced to some famous faces in the acting industry and to some new ones as well.

When Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Shailene Woodley) find out that she is a Divergent, a person who is considered dangerous in their society, she must choose whether to stay in her faction, transfer to another one, be faction less or be killed. She eventually chooses a faction and tries her to keep her secret. A Dauntless trainer name Tobias "Four" Eaton (Theo James) finds out about her secret but chooses to keep quiet about it.

The film was really a great entertainment with its colorful casts and extreme stunts. Burger really did well using actors who are experienced in different kinds of genres of movies. Kate Winslet really showed that she can play any role given to her and what a despicable antagonist she can be. Zoë Kravitz was almost unreconizable, shifting from the hot and seductive Angel Salvadore in X-Men First Class to the tough yet friendly Christina. Theo James really transformed from the cold hearted killer David in Underworld:Awakening to the strict yet gentle hearted Tobias.

What really gave this reviewer a pause was the lead actress Shailene Woodley as Beatrice "Tris" Prior. She used to have been a typical girl next door, undeceive and dependent in The Secret Life of an American Teenager and rebellious in The Descendants but for her to be so daring and fierce was really a shocker. After an hour I was convinced that whoever did the casting did a swell job, as Woodley represented the fearless and intelligent Beatrice Prior spectacularly.

The runs for 139 minutes which is a bit long. There were some scenes that seemed dragging but the action scenes and beautiful dialogue really made the audience stick their eyes to the screen. The plot was clearly set into a distant future but what happened to rest of the world was oblivious to the audience and all we know is that there was a war and that some places still hasn't recovered from it.

Despite some shortcomings, Divergent is exciting and thrilling. Set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic Chicago, Divergent has the same action packed sequence and plot as The Hunger Games and Catching Fire and the romanticism of The Twilight Saga but is definitely better than the these combined, that leave you at the edge of your seats, make you want to watch it over and over again and still leave craving for more. This is definitely one movie
that is worth your time.
Divergent Originally published in Shvoong: http://www.shvoong.com/entertainment/movies/2411913-divergent/

Divergent, The debut novel from Veronica Roth, Divergent imagines a future after a great war.

From School Library Journal
Divergent review
 Gr 9 Up-In the dystopian Chicago setting of Veronica Roth's novel (Katherine Tegen Bks., 2011), the population is divided into five factions. Upon declaring allegiance to one of them, 16-year-old Beatrice will decide her future. Beatrice and her brother, Caleb, grew up in helpful, unassuming Abnegation, always putting others first. During her aptitude testing, a simulation probes her suitability for Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. Rather than getting a clear reading of her strengths, Beatrice's result is disturbing and dangerous: she is Divergent. At the choosing ceremony, the teenager impulsively joins Dauntless, the tattooed "hellions" whose value is bravery, and who protect the community. Beatrice, now called Tris, finds she feels brilliantly alive in Dauntless, even during the brutal training. She enjoys seeing her muscles harden, testing her courage, protecting the underdog, and working her way up the ranks of recruits. Making both friends and enemies, she moves through simulations tailored to trigger her Fear Landscape. Gradually, her Divergence shows itself, allowing Tris to see that the faction-dominated world isn't as wonderful as she has been told. The likeable characters, excellent pacing, and blooming romance will have listeners hooked. Emma Galvin's youthful voice has a twinge of huskiness that lends itself to voicing both young men and women. The audiobook will be very popular, so library patrons will have to be careful considering the packaging: a lightweight box and foldout sleeves. You might want to purchase the audio download instead.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TXα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

preview

Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.