Movie Review: Divergent

I have never read any of the books - I just don't read books in general. Haha - but Divergent surprisingly stood on its own as a nicely executed adventure series that would probably fill the gaping hole that was left by both Harry Potter and Twilight. Sure, as dystopian films go, this was no better or worse than many and it did tend to rip off a couple of concepts from other sources, but it works well with the movie and I genuinely found it quite enjoyable. The premise was dependable, the film was beautifully shot, and the acting was unexpectedly good. Shailene Woodley, in particular, was terrific. She managed to anchor the film with subtlety and there's a good balance of strength and awkwardness in her portrayal that was quite refreshing. Divergent was far from perfect, but it managed to be interesting and riveting enough to merit a sequel. And it's always good to have a heroine you find yourself rooting for no? 7.5