Movie Review: The Divergent Series – Allegiant

 

The much anticipated second to last film in the Divergent Series, Allegiant, hit theaters today. The tagline for the

I’ll begin by saying that after seeing the trailers for Allegiant, I wasn’t too sure of what to expect from the movie.

There is much to say about the new penultimate film of the Divergent series, Allegiant. There are several drastic changes to the plot from the book. So fair warning for those of you who haven’t read the book this is NOT a spoiler free movie review.

I won’t lie, throughout the film I had several questions, (I’ll admit to writing them down during the movie). Why was Chicago in ruins and why was the sky so smoky?  What is going on with the landscape between the wall surrounding Chicago and the Bureau?  Who put the mysterious Council in charge? Why is the Bureau kidnapping kids from the Fringe? Why doesn’t O’Hare airport look like an airport?

The Bureau

Despite the several changes that were made, the film did have a few bright spots. Despite a lot of the scenery in the film being CGI, the cinematography was well done. The dialogue was very well written, for the most part. What stood out to me the most in Allegiant was the acting by both the main cast and the newcomers. Octavia Spencer portrayed Johanna, leader of the Amity as a was a total bad*** in the film. Her acting was spot on. I wish she had gotten more screen time. Hopefully we’ll be get to see more of Johanna in the next film. Naomi Watts as Evelyn Johnson-Eaton, the leader of the Factionless and now of the rebellion, demonstrates a good variety of emotional range throughout the film. From being set in her ways about the trials, to being fearful about a potential mob she can’t control, to the mother-son moment she has with Four towards the end of the film. Ansel Elgort, in my opinion, he did a great job in portraying Caleb’s guilt at betraying his family, how uncomfortable he is with the situation he finds himself in, how useless Caleb is in comparison to the rest of the group (can’t run or climb the wall to save his life). All in all, I enjoyed watching Caleb squirm throughout the film.

Allegiants

The two newcomers to the Divergent series cast, Jeff Daniels and Bill Skarsgard, both did a great job portraying David, the director of the Bureau and Matthew, a scientist who works for the Bureau and is a liaison between Tris and David. Jeff Daniels was good in the film, maybe a little bit too good. From the moment the audience sees him, he gives off major bad guy vibes.

The plot went through some changes as well. Several scenes are added to the film that weren’t in the book. The main scenes that come to mind are the ones where Four is constantly fighting his way out of something (execution, imprisonment). Another change I noticed was how Edgar, who is Evelyn’s right hand man, is a little bit too loyal to Evelyn. It’s almost like his loyalty to her and her “cause” is an obsession. Case in point, he get’s a tad overemotional when Evelyn asks about Four’s well being on his return to Chicago. Another change in the film (and one that I have a difficulty grasping) is the landscape being weirdly different. I get that in the future the world won’t look the same as it does now, but will it really look like Mars? So. Much. Red. According to Caleb, there is presence of radioactivity in the water pools, so is that why the rest of the world looks like Mars? Hopefully this will be answered in Ascendant.

Beyond the Wall

To be completely honest, I have mixed feelings about Allegiant. As a fan of the books, I have to say that I was disappointed but not at all surprised at how different the film was from the book.  As a movie fan, I have to say that it was somewhat entertaining.

I do hope that when you read this it doesn’t put you off from going to watch the film, after all this is just one person’s opinion. Watch the movie and let us know what you think by leaving a comment here or on our Facebook or on Twitter!

A bit disappointing.

3.5
Writing
Acting
Cinematography
Adaptation

+ Writing: For the most part, the dialogue was well written, although some lines felt a bit forced.

+ Acting: Very good job by the cast.

+ Cinematography: The landscape shots at the beginning of the film were pretty great.

+ Adaptation: Not the best book to film adaptation.

A fangirl with too many fandoms and not enough time. Lover of tea, baking, traveling and cats. “Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

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1 Comments
  • Kenny Burrell • 9 years ago

    Too much talking … I think this basically a transition movie for the last one. But the story is so true about human being. There is always something that we may not agree to no matter where we go.