Insurgent (2015)
2:53 PM
One Choice Can Destroy You
Insurgent is the second instalment in the Divergent franchise and is based on the bestselling books by Veronica Roth. The film is directed by Robert Schwentke (R.I.P.D.) - he doesn't have a very good resume. Insurgent stars Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars), Theo James (Divergent, The Inbetweeners Movie) and Oscar winning actress Kate Winslet (Titanic, Contagion). 'Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart with the help from others on her side'. Will this live up to the heights of Divergent? Or will it be a huge disappointment like the poor marketing campaign has made it out to be?
Divergent was in the top half of my top 10 films of the year in 2014- I don't think Insurgent will make it in the top half of my list in 2015 (unless the rest of the films this year are dreadful which is unlikely). However, that doesn't mean Insurgent is a bad film, it just means I that I preferred Divergent. So yes, in some ways, this is a step back from the first film but it is still a really good addition to the franchise! The story is quite slow to start off with but once it kicked into gear, it is really unique and fun --- SPOILER --- I love the fact that Tris (Woodley) has to test herself against all the 5 faction simulations which really proves that she is Divergent. However, Divergent was action-packed (Even though the fight scenes did feel very choreographed at the beginning) and thrilling after the first act. There are also a few twists which may be a little predictable but still add to the fun of the story.
One thing I did like about this compared to Divergent was that you got to explore nearly all of the factions and actually see the ways of life in all of them. You get to meet a lot of new characters along the way too which will probably become quite major players in the final 2 films. There are also many similarities between this and The Hunger Games which does suggest that if these films had been made 5 years earlier, they would have been classed as unique and The Hunger Games would be seen as the copycat. Divergent beat Mockingjay last year but I am confident that Mockingjay will beat Insurgent this year.
The special effects were also very impressive. Even though they only came into play in the third act of the film, it was very impressive and worth waiting for. Also, the trailers for this film are very misleading - this film is actually good! I felt like the trailers kept using the same clips but in different orders - however, this was probably because they didn't want to give too much away.
Despite the lack of originality, the acting in this film is top-notch. Shailene Woodley is once again fantastic and I have still not seen a bad performance from her! - promising! I really connected and felt sympathy with her character when she was injected with the truth serum and had to own up to her friends the bad things that she has done - this probably wouldn't have been as effective if Woodley wasn't the leading lady - she was fantastic! In some ways, Woodley is actually divergent herself - she doesn't really have one character role - she can play lots! Kate Winslet was also very good even if I do still laugh that a villain's name is Jeanine which sounds silly as its such a common and real name unlike 'President Snow' and 'Voldemort'. Miles Teller, Ansel Egort and Theo James are also very good! Also, even though her role was small, Octavia Spencer was fantastic and it was nice to see her in such a different role to what I have seen her in before!
Even though Insurgent isn't the most original YA movie and is in some aspects a step down from Divergent but with dazzling special effects and thrilling action sequences, Insurgent is still a great instalment for the franchise. Woodley is fantastic and the film wouldn't be the same if she wasn't leading it. One choice could have destroyed this film but luckily that choice wasn't made. Insurgent is what you need to see!
4 STARS
Have you seen INSURGENT? Did you prefer INSURGENT or DIVERGENT? Are they true to the source material? What should I review next? - COMMENT BELOW
INSURGENT is part of our Summer Movie Campaign!
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3 comments
Makes me wonder how old you are when you like a movie as flawed and boring as this. I mean, I like Z grade movies any day, and many cult classics which was bombing at the box office is favorites of mine. But for the most part, they TRIED to make a movie. Insurgent continues the trend of bland and uninteresting characters, Shailene Woodley is the WRONG choice for the lead as she only has 1/10 of the charisma and talent that the one from Hunger Games has, and overall its badly made.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the whole premise of Insurgent is way beyond what they did in the previous one (which was half way watchable). Here you really have to turn off your brain, as so many things are so illogical its bordering on criminal.
But to each our own I guess. As long as dumb teenagers are buying tickets to see crap like this, Hollywood will continue spitting it out. Its that easy.
Just my 2 cents :)
I appreciate your views and everyone has their opinions. However, I am also allowed my opinion and that is what I express in my reviews. I don't expect commenters that are going to tell me I'm wrong or shouldn't believe that certain films are good. I'm pretty sure you went into Insurgent hoping for it to be bad because of scores on from other critics. I went into the film very cautious as I didn't like the marketing campaign at all and was pleasantly surprised. If you are going to comment on future posts- by all means express your opinion about the film but please don't question my own views and say that I am wrong - everyone takes in films differently
DeleteThere are indeed a lot of people who did like the film including me and I'm not a teenager btw how old are you maybe?
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