"Allegiant" Review

“Stop. Put your pencils down. Close your test book.” That’s what the teachers used to say to us at the end of a big test. All I needed to see was five minutes of Allegiant before I wanted to tell the screenwriters, check writers, studio execs, and anyone else who can get another Divergent Series movie created to “Stop! Put your pencils down. Don’t make another one of these!”

Tris (Shailene Woodley), her boyfriend Four (Theo James), best friend Christina (Zoe Kravitz), brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), and flip flop peer Peter (Miles Teller) are ready to see what’s on the other side of the wall this time. So they venture out against the orders of Evelyn (Naomi Watts), who took over as Chicago’s leader after the last film, Insurgent. It takes the usual outfoxing to get to the wall, but thank goodness for the genius that is Tris. 

The problem (among many) with Allegiant is that it recycles themes from its previous films. As the world of Tris and her friends opens to a new and unknown world outside the wall of Chicago, we’re simply introduced to a new society that has separated people into categories: pure vs. damaged. The film does a terrible job of explaining why some people are damaged and other people are pure. I tried to pay attention, but it was a quite convoluted exposition monologue given by David (Jeff Daniels), the new leader of the new world. What was made clear, was that Tris holds the key to cracking into the pure human genome. Unfortunately, in this franchise, Tris is a poorly written heroine who seems to step up only after everyone around her has done the work needed to let her step on their backs. It’s a boring watch. 

The only intriguing part of Allegiant is its images. The environments and architecture are beautiful. The invented technology in the film is unique and gives a vision for our world’s future tech. It’s sad that it’s all used on a film with little story crammed into two hours of something we’ve seen before. In short, Tris and the gang have jumped out of the pot and into the fire. They have a new “villain” to take down with the same old issues to fix. 

Unless you’re a fanatic of the series, please save your money and don’t go to the theaters to see this film. The creators didn’t spend time putting something fresh and coherent together, and thus you shouldn’t spend your time and money viewing it. I’d fall asleep watching it on Netflix if I were you.

Rating: F

"Insurgent" Review

Of the many words that come to mind when I think of “Insurgent”, uncomfortable is the one I just can’t shake. The actors look uncomfortable in their wardrobe and performances. The fact that teenagers act like adults and adults like idiots is uncomfortable. More than anything, I was uncomfortable in my chair suffering through the 119 minute running time waiting for the film to be over.

Shailene Woodley reprises her role in the follow up to "Divergent" as Tris Pryor, a young girl who happens to be different in a world where everyone sticks to the tribal stereotype they’ve been tested into. It’s easy to pick out the Divergents in the film, just look for the actors who wear cool clothes and walk with a little swag. Everyone else looks uncomfortable in their wardrobe, and has a robot-like presence (no matter what faction, outside of Divergents and maybe the Factionless). 

Due to her ability to be all types, Tris is labeled a Divergent. In fact, she’s The Divergent of all Divergents. Even though she’s “powerful”, her past won’t allow her to move forward. For most of the movie we’re forced to watch Tris lash out at others and doubt herself because of the self-imposed emotional load she carries around. She can’t forgive herself for the deaths that she has caused by her own hand or by association with her. 

In the meantime, Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is hunting down Divergents and testing them to the point of death in an effort to open a mysterious box. This box has a message in it from the founders of their society, and only a powerful Divergent can open it. Four (Theo James) reunites with a long lost relative who just may help them turn the tide in the war against Erudite.

The cast performances in this film are just awful. While most of the main characters have given us wonderful performances in other films, they barely showed up for this one. Shailene Woodley plays an excellent fragile but strong character in “The Fault in Our Stars”, but the same magic doesn’t work in “Insurgent”. You never quite believe her as an action star, her screams are like nails on chalkboard (there is a lot of chalkboard throughout this movie) and she . Miles Teller was awesome in “Whiplash”, but doesn’t do more than recite his lines in this film. Kate Winslet brings nothing new to her role as well. The list goes on.

Will Jeanine get the box open? Will Tris forgive herself? Who cares?! If the movie gives us no reason to be invested in the characters and stakes, why should we care? This series already started out rocky, and this installment just cements the rockslide of cookie cut teen dystopia that we’re being forced to swallow. Don’t waste your money this weekend, especially in 3D or IMAX. If only the boatload of cash this film is going to see this weekend sunk with the series.

Rating: D

"Divergent" Doesn't Diverge From an Old Story

You’ve seen “Divergent” before. You might remember the movie about the dystopian society with the group or person that is different from everyone else, and decides to take down the powers that be. That’s “Divergent” in a nutshell. 

In the world of “Divergent”, everyone is divided into factions that’s based on their personality. Shailene Woodley is Tris, the heroine that we’re supposed to root for. She’s grown up in the “good will to others” faction, but has a hankering for being with the soldier group. When she comes to the age of deciding what group she will live with for the rest of her life, she takes a test that concludes inconclusive or...divergent. After watching her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) choose a group outside of their family’s, she bypasses the farmers, thinkers, logicals, and decides to live her life with the soldiers. 

Tris’s decision puts her in the soldier (Dauntless) group with the mysterious higher ranking Four (Theo James). Oddly, in film nerd trivia, it also places her in the same group with adversary Peter (Miles Teller). This means that Shailene Woodley is in a movie with a leading man she was in love with in a past film (“The Spectacular Now” with Miles Teller), a current love (“Divergent”), and a future love (“The Fault in Our Stars” with Ansel Elgort). That trivia was more exciting then the rest of the film. That had to be strange on set...but I diverge...digress! 

There is a huge chunk of time in which Tris has to learn to fight and think like her new Duantless family while keeping her true identity a secret. Four helps our heroine along the way. In the meantime the evil Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is trying to make her Erudite group the governing societal body while hunting down and killing divergents to keep society from leaving the commands that it’s founders have set out for them. 

There has been a lot of comparison to “The Hunger Games” franchise with this film due its similar theme. The biggest issue I have with the film is that I don’t care about Tris. Whereas Katniss from “The Hunger Games” is a more well rounded person who seems to think for herself, Tris just let’s things happen to her and when she does think for herself it feels forced. “Divergent” has an awesome ensemble of characters in its’ cast but they can’t overcome the script. Truth be told “The Hunger Games” is Sprite and “Divergent” is 7 Up. Sure it looks the same and tastes similar, but one is a far superior movie. “Divergent” is Netflix, Redbox material, that may be your favorite home movie rental franchise to watch as a guilty pleasure.

Rating: C-