Divergent Review

Grade: D
One-Liner: If Twilight and The Hunger Games had a love child, this would be it.

In Divergent the people are separated into five factions based on personality traits, like a less-fun version of the Hogwarts houses. So naturally, the first question one asks a Divergent fan is which faction they'd be in. With a blog called Honest | Unmerciful, I'm obviously a member of the Candor faction, and with that comes the obligation to tell it like it is, even when it's not pretty.

So it's with loyalty to the truth that I write up my review for this sub-par film adaptation for a book that I recently argued rivaled The Hunger Games. I should have known when that misty Summit Entertainment logo popped up that this was going to be as corny as Edward and Bella sparkling in the sunlight, but I still remained hopeful that writer Veronica Roth's impressive story would translate to the big screen.

I tried to stay objective throughout the film, opting not to compare it to the book too intensely, as not everything in the 487-page epic would be able to fit. But the film was constantly pulling me out of the story as Ellie Goulding blasted during Tris Prior's selection and cheesy drum beats pounded while she ran. As multi-faceted as Tris (Shailene Woodley) is supposed to be, this film gave a complex, creative story a one dimensional feel.

Once the heroine selected the Dauntless faction — known for their bravery — everything was bathed in fluorescent oranges and purples and the mindless brutes happily lifted the initiates on their shoulders to crowd surf. That's when I started searching for Kellan Lutz in the crowd and wondering when Tris' love interest would pull up in his Volvo.

Some moments remained true to the book and were well-executed like the ferris wheel climbing scene, but others like zip lining through the city were wrought with horrendous special effects.

Woodley was respectable enough in her role, but there were frequent laughable moments when she had to verbalize what Tris was thinking that didn't do her any favors. For the time being, I think Jennifer Lawrence is safe.

Though some of the minor characters like Tori, Will, and Christina were well cast, others like Al, Caleb, Peter, and, yes, even Jeanine were off the mark. They added far too many additional scenes with Jeanine, probably because when Kate Winslet agrees to do something, you make sure she's featured prominently.

Miles Teller — who has played Woodley's love interest in the past — was cast as the ruthless, heartless Peter, who was supposed to be willing to murder to get to the top. But in this version he seemed more like a taunting, poor-man's Draco Malfoy, and he had more chemistry with Woodley than her leading man Theo James. The same goes for Ansel Elgort — who has also played Woodley's love interest — in the role of her brother Caleb.

Things started to improve toward the end of the film when things got really messy, but for some reason, this version decided to take R-rated, graphic violence and make it PG. Victims of brutal beatings only had one small bruise and people who were shot in the head, only had a thin trickle of blood coming out of their mouths to prove it. It made the sacrifices and conditions less dire, diminishing their importance and value.

As Tris and her brooding beau road off into the sunset at the end of the film, I regretted the last 2 hours and 20 minutes of my life. Because it wasn't has laughably bad (to the point of enjoyment) as the Twilight series, but it wasn't anywhere close to as good as the Hunger Games, making Divergent all around mediocre.