Movie Review: Divergent

A Divergent series...

Divergent opened recently in cinemas and Warren and I went off on Sunday to watch it. Having thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games (I devoured the books in about 4.3 seconds) I was super excited to check out Divergent which is similar in genré, being a Dystopian fiction. Whereas Utopian Fictions create perfect societies, Dystopian Fictions create degraded societies (usually in a post-apocalyptic setting).

The setting for Divergent is in post-apocalyptic Chicago - the city is divided into five different factions - and people are categorised into the factions based on their inherent virtues. The five factions include -

   ,
Each person, when they reach 16, must take a test which determines which faction they should join. After hearing the test results the candidates must then choose, in a public ceremony, whether to remain in the faction of their birth or to transfer to a new faction.

When the lead character, Beatrice Prior, takes her test - it come back with inconclusive results - the test places her in several factions simultaneously, making her a "divergent". Divergents are problematic for the ruling government in that they cannot be easily "boxed" into a particular faction and they have a much higher degree of free will and thought - which in turn, may begin a collective revolt. The government are looking to eradicate any known Divergents in an effort to protect their (skewed) system, which therefore places Beatrice in danger of her life.

I spent the first 20 minutes of the movie trying to decide which faction I would place myself in and decided that I would most definitely be a Divergent. I then spent the remainder of the movie picking up tips on how to survive as an aforementioned Divergent. And trust me, it's not easy.

Apart from the amazing costuming which distinguishes the factions and incredible set design, Divergent also has a 
because what great movie is NOT complete without a little sprinkling of Cupid? I presume that Beatrice's little love interest with "Four" (Theo James) spanned way longer than the actual film -

but one cannot blame her, because watching Theo James take his shirt off - 

is a MOST welcome thing.

The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat as we go on the adrenalin pumping and dauntless ride into the destruction of a society, bent on eradicating those with free will. (There are SO many hectic themes in this movie, that I can't even begin to cover them all in this blogpost!) I absolutely LOVED the movie soundtrack - ( THIS SONG - too beautiful!) and so many other incredible tracks from the likes of Ellie Goulding and Snow Patrol.

Divergent is out now both in SA and in the UK - and definitely one of those movies that is better on the big screen -  so I suggest you load up on your popcorn pronto!

Check out the trailer here.

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