Let me preface this by saying, I LOVED Divergent. The first movie not only did an excellent job of capturing some of the big, pivotal moments, but they also did an extraordinary job of highlighting those smaller moments….whether it was a reaction to something, a glance, a small touch, etc.
Since I can’t review a movie like this without spoilers, click for more on my Insurgent review below….
Going into the movie, I knew there were some changes that were going to happen. I’ve experienced several YA book to movie adaptations at this point in my life, so I’m used to it. I went through it for five movies with Twilight.
I’m a fan of bullet points, so here’s my thoughts….
* I feel like it is hard to compare Divergent and Insurgent because the tone of the films felt so completely different. Part of that reason is because Insurgent starts off in a brightly lit Amity farm. I personally enjoyed this portion of the film. Tobias smiling and playing with kids. YES, that was wonderful. The exchange between Tris and Tobias with her revealing her new hair felt very honest. I also loved that they used the line, “nothing else is okay but we are” during that scene.
* That train sequence was so fun to watch. I wanted to throw Caleb off the train as he stood there and watched his sister dangle over the edge. There were also several moments throughout the film where Tobias is physically holding Tris back…after she attacked Peter in Amity, on the train, etc. I thought that was a nice touch.
*Factionless-did anyone else jump 3 feet in the air when Tobias slammed his fist on the table when they were talking to Evelyn? I was not expecting that at all and it scared the shit out of me.
*Tobias and Tris sleeping in Factionless…hello cuddly FourTris! I loved the use of the nightmare sequence here and how creepy Evelyn came off.
*The truth serum scene was brutal in the best way. The way Theo and Shai portrayed that sequence worked really well…with Theo sweating and Shailene pinching her arm to showcase Tris trying to fight the serum.
*I legitimately thought Uriah was dead when the traitor Dauntless first attacked Candor and shot him. I completely forgot about the trackers they were injecting them with (also, those things were something out of a alien movie).
*Well Marlene was pretty much a useless character….why was she even in this movie? Like I felt nothing when she jumped off that ledge.
*The “sex” scene. While I loved seeing those characters together like that, I felt like that scene didn’t really serve much of a purpose since it was like 10 seconds. The Twilight movies showed more than that and they were notorious for fade-to-black moments. I just almost wish they would have saved a scene like that for Allegiant and taken more time with it. But their exchange right before it faded to black was excellent. Him telling her he loved her <4
*The incorporation of the box and sims streamlined the plot of the movie that could have become very convoluted for non-book moviegoers. However, I could have done with a little less CGI.
*Shai’s hair when Caleb’s character came to see Tris in her Erudite room…DIED.
*I think some people assumed the scene where Peter injected Tris with whatever concoction that was and then wheeling her out to Tobias was added for the movie. That was very much a scene (almost exactly liked it played out) in the book. Also, hello Allegiant feels.
*Also, Miles interrupting Tris/Tobias’ moment there was hilarious.
*Actually Miles Teller’s every scene was pretty great.
*The release of the video….now, here is my issue….the name Edith Prior was never mentioned. ????? okkkkkk. And everything after that with everyone in the factions running. I sat there in the theater going, “uhhhh WTF is happening? are they all storming the wall?” I felt like it was tied up too neatly. Where is the suspense for Allegiant? Also, I have a feeling quite a bit is going to change for the Allegiant movies.
*While there was a lot of side plots left out of Insurgent (there is NO WAY all that could have been included), I kind of missed some of the side character developments.
*The “You die, I die line” :’’’’’’’’’’’’(
*BUT OMG THE “I’LL BE YOUR FAMILY NOW” LINE WAS NOT THERE AND THAT WAS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITEEEEE. Please to be including that somehow into Allegiant. okay, thanks.
*Pretty much loved all the additional cast members. Can’t wait to see more of Evelyn and Johanna in the next movies.
*Theo/Shai were great as always. I read several critic reviews that said they had no chemistry and Theo’s portrayal of Four was stoic. Did we watch the same movie?
I commend those of you that read all of this. That being said, the more I reflect on the movie, the more I find things I would change. Comparing the two movies, I believe Neil did a better job of capturing the essence of the story.
I'll Be Your Family Now 