Another in the line of adaptations of dystopian Young-Audlt novels hastily greenlit by studios hoping to
capitalize on the success of the “Hunger Games” franchise, the “Divergent”
series is precisely the variety that gives the genre a bad name. More than just
hopelessly generic, the basic premise of this world — that in a
post-apocalyptic future, society is split into factions based on a single
personality trait — is deeply stupid.
The first film alternated exclusively between exposition and
training montages, while “Insurgent” concerns itself with a plot by an icily
villainous leader (Kate Winslet) to get her hands on a mysterious box that will
supposedly provide her with the means to destroy so-called divergents
(individuals who have characteristics attributed to each of the five factions),
who she believes threaten the social order. Naturally, the box can only be
opened by one of these special few, necessitating the capture of our divergent
heroine Tris (Shailene
Woodley), since she’s the most special of all the specials.
As the second chapter settles into this world, it allows us
the opportunity to consider how nonsensical this universe really is, and aside
from some nice effects work, director Robert Schwentke
brings little of previous helmer Neil Burger’s visual
flair to distract us. Woodley and the rest of the cast do what they can, but
they’re left stranded by the dopey material. Whereas “The Hunger Games” finds
plenty of real world resonance (quotes from those books were seen scrawled on
signs held by protesters in Ferguson), the allegory behind “Insurgent” is
depressingly empty.
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2015.
