"Divergent" (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

Note: I have only read the first 5 chapters of the book of the same title by Veronica Roth. That review is for another time. This review, however, is for now. I will not talk about inaccuracies, but instead I will be reviewing this as a movie.

In a post-apocalyptic world, Chicago, Illinois is fenced off from the rest of the world. inside the fence, a society is made. By keeping order in a system, children at the age of 16 take a test to see which faction they are made for and they must choose one faction to live in the rest of their life (think the houses of Hogwarts from "Harry Potter" and the sorting hat). However, on rare occasions, the test doesn't work for someone, the results inconclusive to tell where the 16 would go in life. This is called "divergent". Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) is a divergent and she must keep that secret or else the government would execute her, marking her as a threat to the system.

Constantly compared to the "Hunger Games", "Divergent" is another teen phenomenon. It takes the basic steps of a movie, adds thrills, action, and plot twists, but doesn't take the extra step to add the depth the movie has potential for. I felt the movie's story was shallow, the concept slightly explained but not enough to truly understand the environment. Perhaps these problems will be addressed in the sequel.

Don't be fooled, though. The movie is still enjoyable, just not going as far as it could have gone.

2/5 Stars

Comments

What to Read After Insomiac's Spider-Man

So you've just defeated the Sinister Six, maybe done a side mission here and there, or perhaps 100% completed what most are considering the best Spider-Man game ever made (and they're right). What now? Where do you go from here to learn more about the wisecracking wall-crawler? Besides Tom Holland's performance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we've never really seen Spider-Man portrayed so solidly like we have here. This, my friends, is where the fun part comes in: Entering the vast world of Spider-Man presented in comics and novels. Allow me to be your guide, providing recommendations for any requests you may be wishing for. "I just want more..." Well, you're in luck because Marvel has 2 options for you! Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover is the official prequel novel to the game, taking place 6 months prior. It follows Spider-Man trying to find an imposter killing people, working with a newfound friend from the police force to take ...

Books on Film by Black Authors

There's no real order to this list, nor can I guarantee which ones are worth reading or not. However, the quality of the books are not the point, but rather we should lend these voices our eyes, ears, and time, giving them a stronger voice than they would have had without at least mentioning them. Titles link to the Goodreads page for the specific book and additional links will be listed to buy the book from Barnes & Noble and/or Thriftbooks (non-affiliated). Don't forget to see if your local bookstore might have these in stock! Missing your favorite? Tweet me @AuthorKLau and I'll update the article! Independent Visions: A Critical Introduction to Recent Independent American Film by Donald Lyon Far from the big money movie machine of Hollywood lies the cutting-edge, artistically fresh world of American independent film. These independent filmmakers, working outside the formulas and constraints of the big studios, produce today’s most exciting and innovative movies. In ...

"Godzilla" (2014) REVIEW

Godzilla: king of monsters and humanity's savior. Towering over skyscrapers in eye-popping 3D, Godzilla is here to fight monsters for about 10 minutes in this 2-hour movie, most of the time in the background. 15 years after an accident in one of Japan's power plants, it is revealed to the audience that something was actually growing from the ground. After tampering with it, scientists accidentally release a monster into the world. After wreaking havoc, Godzilla rises from the ocean to fight it. Humans try to survive all the disaster that were caused by the monster battles, deciding whether or not Godzilla poses a threat or is trying to protect them. As I said in the beginning, Godzilla is barely in the movie, which is a shame considering all the scenes of disaster were so well done leaving me to feel like this should be a tie-in to a Godzilla movie that focused on him fighting. Unfortunately, the non-disaster scenes (you know, the human aspects of the film) are incredib...

Kevin Lau

Search This Blog