Shailene Woodley and Theo James return to the big screen in the second installment of the “Divergent” series, “Insurgent.”
Whether it be superhero movies or young adult novels being adapted for the film, our movie culture is fun. The same could be said about the newest sequel in the dystopian world of “Insurgent.”
After the events culminating in the destruction of almost all factions, Tris Prior now begins a journey with Four and a handful of friends and family as war stares them all in the face.
Sides will be chosen and the darkest secrets will be shown in the light. In order to fight the powerful alliance among them, Tris must risk everything and confront her inner demons as society starts to tear itself apart. Her tremendous struggle will result in the harness of incredible power and hopefully a new world.
“The Divergent Series: Insurgent” stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, Jai Courtney, Octavia Spencer, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer and Naomi Watts. Robert Schwentke directs the film with a script by Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman and Mark Bomback.
What can you say about the lovely Shailene Woodley that has not already been said? She is as gorgeous as she is tough, and tough is something she shows very much in this film. As Tris, Woodley gives a really solid performance once again. This time, we get to see a little more anger if you catch my drift. It is more than likely because of her age, but Woodley is just wonderful in these coming-of-age roles. Whether it be this or “The Fault in Our Stars” or even “White Bird in a Blizzard,” she can really pull audiences in her emotions.
As for the guys in this film, James, Elgort and Teller all do their part, but they are primarily just there to help the story along.
This is Woodley’s film, through and through. Just like another young adult adapted role Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) in “The Hunger Games” series, it is hard for the fuel to be taken away from the lead character. Especially when you have these two phenomenal ladies leading those films.
One of the main things that amazed me about this film is how well the award-winning actresses Winslet, Spencer and Watts pull off supporting roles. They have been around for a long time and are not the main characters in this film, but do they ever give ground-shattering performances.
Especially Winslet who is at her second go as the villainous leader of Erudite, Jeanine Matthews.
When the first film was released people were a bit hesitant due its slow startup. However, that is not the case with “Insurgent.” One of the main reasons this film really pops is not only because of the Oscar winning screenwriter Akiva Goldman, but its director, Robert Schwentke. With Schwentke, we get the same world but a new flavor with it.
Another upside for this film is that it is wildly amazing in 3D. I will be the first to say that 3D is way, way overused. I am not saying that about this one however. With this film, the visual effects blew me away. Never speechless mind you, but pretty close.
Comments wise, this film does drag in certain areas, which is always to be expected when adapting a previously known novel.
However, what kind of let me down was some of the lacking emotions in the male supporting cast. You are never too tough to show one tiny little tear guys. Besides that, the movie was well done and makes you want “Allegiant: Part 1” to come quick, which will be released on March 18th, 2016. It’s less than a year away.
If you are looking for a good action/adventure flick, I would most certainly recommend that you check out “The Divergent Series: Insurgent.”
Story by John Gruccio, Contributing writer