Divergent (2014)
There's a word for people like me. I'm Divergent.
And it's not in the movie! Oops, spoiler! XD
I read the book when I heard that there will be a movie. And I saw the book set on my niece's FB wall. I don't know what it is about trilogies. Harry Potter spoiled me, making me patient enough to wait and wait for the next installment thus making me invest time, money, effort, and... emotion to the whole damn thing. Only to be crushed by the final book/movie.
But I digress, you can read all about the book on my book blog. I've only read the first book for now. I thought it was great but I'm in no rush to read the rest. It still had the teenage whine that I dislike but with violence, suicides, and deaths. You know, dystopian-style romance.
The movie, I liked. I admit, I wasn't super excited but I still couldn't wait to see it. It was long and the editing was choppy but it is to be expected. The first book was one long introduction to Tris and the society and it's a lot of stuff to cram into a 2.5 hour movie. I actually think it would be a good candidate for a CW series. The movie definitely had an Arrow-ish feel in production and general treatment of content. But since it was 2.5 hours long, the "cut into Tris", "close up of Tris' face", and "it's all about Tris" became old... fast. It was all about waterproof defining mascara and brown smudged liner to me. Boy, I thought the LesMis movie had too many closeups. I was very well acquainted with Shailene Woodley's freckles by the end of the first hour.
It was as faithful as it could, I guess. Like I said, the book is packed with information and situations that it's not possible to be 100% faithful in a movie. For once, I was happy with the casting. Haha... I won't say it was "perfect" but I couldn't think of other people who can do a better job that what they had. Theo James was solid as Four, considering he's oh, 10 years older than the Four in the book. Shailene Woodley is... she's brilliant! She looks so meek but, I mean, she's Tris. OMG. She's like the stillest of waters, she runs deep. I loved the nuances she gave Tris -- the little smiles, giggles, and the intensity during the battle scenes.
Comparing it to The Hunger Games is pointless. They're very different. I must say, THG keeps you on your feet and is definitely more tragic and gory. But Divergent keeps you thinking. If only they extended the training scenes to include the others... those were my favorite parts of the movie. Both have deeper meanings, societal issues and inequality but it's easier to apply the issues in Divergent to our immediate situation. THG looks at it at a larger scope.
But my one biggest complaint (not counting my fangirly issue that Maggie Q was underused) is with a Lionsgate budget, they can't make the tattoos a least bit realistic? I said it when the trailer first came out, Four and his huge back piece looks like it's been sponsored by Sharpie. The fake tattoos that are applied with water look better than those. Are they henna'd on the actors? If so, it wasn't very good.
One treat for a movie buff like me comes in the casting. There was this one scene were Tris is running down a corridor with Peter played by Miles Teller, Four, and Caleb played by Ansel Elgort. Miles was in The Spectacular Now with Shailene. Caleb is Tris' older brother. Ansel will be Shailene's love interest in The Fault in Our Stars. Yay.
So how about you? Have you taken your test? I have… and about 10 others. All of them point to the same result: “You are #Divergent- But Closest to Erudite.” I would agree.
