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    The Divergent Series: Insurgent

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    I dunno about this “Divergent” franchise guys. I kind of get the feeling that it’s just not all that good. While “Insurgent” has some strong moments here and there, it’s hard to get past the contrived story. The conflict that’s central to this film could have been fixed in fifteen minutes if our heroes just acted logically. You don’t get much expansion on this world, or it’s characters. It’s a disappointment.

    After Tris (Shailene Woodley) managed to foil Erudite Leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) and her evil plan to take over Chicago, our heroine is on the run. Accompanied by Four (Theo James), Peter (Miles Teller), and Caleb (Ansel Elgort) they search for allies to stop Jeanine before she can open up a mysterious five-sided box which she claims will give her the means to end the Divergent problem once and for all.

    This plot is thin and not all that creative. Basically, it’s the last third of the last movie on repeat. Jeanine has all of her minions doing blatantly diabolical things, like exterminating large groups of people and mind controlling the ones she doesn’t want her goons to eliminate. Meanwhile Tris and her rag-tag group of allies have to stop her while avoiding attention and not knowing whom they can trust. The main difference is that now there’s no time wasted with a mystery of who the evil people are, and there are no training montages either. My main problem is with this story. The last film ended with genocide… and no one in this society is asking questions? I realize the Dauntless have all of the guns, but where are the protests? Hasn’t anyone noticed the war that’s happening? As the plot develops we learn that there are some bits of technology that should they be applied correctly would quickly rally everyone in the city against Jeanine. I know our protagonists are teenagers and that in highly stressful situations people don’t necessarily think straight, but these people have also lived their entire lives knowing what this world is capable of, why don’t they act intelligently? Maybe we’re supposed to believe that no one would act even if the obviously evil characters were exposed. That’s the only way I can believe that this plot moves forward.

    If you’re returning to the franchise for the characters, you’ll be disappointed. The emotional arc that’s given to Tris has been done time and time again. It’s the first issue you would give to a character in her situation. Four gets little development, although he is given a backstory that’s much more tragic than we thought initially, meaning his tattoo-clad, muscular behind will be even more popular with the female audience this film is aimed at. But the real missed opportunity is with the villains. They’re not even human beings anymore. They’re just flat-out evil and that does not make them interesting. You know nobody will have any qualms about toppling the Erudite’s tower of Barad-dûr and killing everyone in it. There will be no dissension within the heroes’ ranks as they make strike because there can be no internal conflict when dealing with a slime sucking, maggot infested toilet bowl swimmer like Eric (J'ai Courtney) They’re not memorable, not even a joy to hate.

    On the upside, the budget for “Insurgent” is a lot bigger than in the previous film, and you can tell. There are some fantasy action sequences that I thought were quite impressive. You’d think that because they were happening only in Tris’ mind they would feel inconsequential, but they don’t. I also have to praise the performances. Shailene Woodley in particular is showing that she can make a film that’s not all that good watchable because she gives it her all.

    I’m disappointed with the film, but I also have to give it credit for keeping my interest enough that I want to see where it goes next. Honestly, I have no idea what the plot is going to be like. With this film’s conclusion, it feels so definitive that the next crisis is going to be mind-blowingly epic and awesome, or totally, utterly dumb. I think if you liked “Divergent” you might as well see this one. It brings closure to the first story. It’s not great though. “Insurgent” is bad, but it’s nonetheless compelling and has a few tiny shining moments here and there. (On iTunes, April 10, 2016)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  13.4.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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