Review: The Divergent Series: Insurgent

Review: The Divergent Series: Insurgent
*Mild Spoilers Alert
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Official 'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' Poster.

      Made in a much bigger scale, 'Insurgent' manages to impress as its predecessor yet fail to improve in a major way similar second movies of popular YA franchises usually do.

"Kate Winslet".

"Shailene Woodley"
and "Theo James".

      After the events that occurred in 'Divergent', Divergent 'Tris'(Shailene Woodley) and 'Four'(Theo James) are on the run along with 'Tris''s brother 'Caleb'(Ansel Elgort) and Dauntless member 'Peter Hayes'(Miles Teller). They are now taking refuge at the Amity faction, lying low until they discover what their next move will be. Their plan is to get to their friends from Dauntless in order to once and for all get rid of Erudite's ruthless leader 'Jeanine Mathews'(Kate Winslet), who found an ancient artifact that is tied to the founders. Therefore, she declares martial law and enlists Dauntless and Erudite members and resources to find 'Four' and 'Tris', who after being detected must go on the run and try to gather as much troops in order to stop 'Jeanine' and end this unfair faction system while dealing with their respective personal problems. Other major characters include leader of the factionless 'Evelyn Johnson-Eaton'(Naomi Watts), Dauntless member 'Eric Coutler'(Jai Courtney), 'Tris''s friend 'Christina'(Zoe Kravitz), Dauntless member 'Tori Wu'(Maggie Q), Dauntless member 'Max'(Mekhi Phifer), Candor leader 'Jack Kang'(Daniel Dae Kim), Dauntless member 'Uriah Pedrad'(Keiynan Lonsdale), factionless member 'Edgar'(Jonny Weston), Amity leader 'Johanna Reyes'(Octavia Spencer), 'Four''s father 'Marcus Eaton'(Ray Stevenson), and 'Tris''s parents 'Andrew Prior'(Tony Goldwyn) and 'Natalie Prior'(Ashley Judd).

"Naomi Watts".

"Ansel Elgort".

      The release of 'Divergent' last year was a huge success. From a commercial point of view casting of upcoming actors and actresses such as "Shailene Woodley", "Ansel Elgort" and "Miles Teller" was a smart movie, where their star power grew after the release. Also its success and spread in the box office and social media was a sure indication that this franchise was ready to be launched. The concept of the faction system and whether one must belong to a certain category rather than to be free in choosing to be more than one thing was an interesting idea. Yet the execution of this idea could have been done in a more efficient manner, seeing that taking on romance and conflict subplots to a certain extent overshadowed the main concept of the book that many were interested in. So with 'Insurgent' many were expecting that it will improve upon the first one. In a way, this sequel manages to improve upon the foundations that 'Divergent' manages to construct, yet this improvement was not substantial as other YA franchises usually accomplish. So at times, many of the audiences including myself felt the movie was repeating itself. That said the movie grander scale lead to an enjoyable picture experience and still the movie does provide hope that the franchise will upgrade itself going forward.

"Theo James", "Shailene Woodley"
and "Miles Teller".

"Jai Courtney".

      "Robert Schwentke"('The Time Traveler's Wife' and 'Red') came on as director, replacing 'Divergent' director "Neil Burger". Progression of the franchise could be tangibly noticed from the special effects to the action sequences. "Robert" managed to calibrate and extend the universe that was successfully established in the first movie. Yet the problem that arose in 'Divergent' was duplicated here. Screenplay personnel "Akiva Goldsman"('A Beautiful Mind'), "Mark Bomback"('The Wolverine') and "Brian Duffield" maintained the main plot related to the Divergents and the faction system and their relation. Yet what came in between was problematic. Aside from the main characters, the movie lacked deep and stable development of characters, which is a shame seeing the high acting caliber of the cast. Moreover, the side-plots that accompanied the main one seemed cleverly scattered rather than being a subtle extension to the main story. Yet the breath-taking camera work, futuristic set designs, relevant costumes and exceptional visual effects majorly aided the movie to improve upon the first installment. Composer "Joseph Trapanese"('Tron: Legacy' and 'Oblivion') futuristic score assisted the movie in a huge manner expressing the feelings that the scenes were giving the audience.

"Maggie Q" and "Keiynan Lonsdale".

"Jonny Weston" and "Theo James".

      Although this sequel did run less than its predecessor, the time frame does seem problematic from a personal point of view. Trimming of few scenes here and there could have been achieved since there were many instances and moments that felt unnecessary. Dream sequences are a massive part of the franchise (noticeable from the marketing material prior to the movie's release). The opening sequence was enjoyable showing us the movie's position with respect to the previous movie, yet still being subtle about it. The transitioning of this movie from sequence to another felt a bit more natural than the previous one, making them seem more cohesive than simultaneous. The action sequences here were pretty clever utilizing many of the dream sequences as the action scenes, to appeal to a broader audience. The most popping of them were the sequence where 'Tris' was saving her mother inside the moving house and 'Tris' going against herself. Since these scenes incorporated the entertainment part of the movie as well as the emotional growth of the character. Scenes like the dinner inside the factionless habitat, 'Dauntless''s attack on 'Candor' and the remaining SIM simulations were also one of the highlights of this franchise installment. The ending did give much hope that there is still a place for the franchise to further lift it and upgrade it.

"Kate Winslet" and
"Shailene Woodley".

"Daniel Dae Kim", "Theo James"
and "Shailene Woodley".

      The returning cast as well new additions did aid the problem of the lack of proper character development. "Shailene Woodley", the main attraction of the entire franchise, was near perfection as 'Tris' with her ability to get the character to the next level, with the truth serum scene showing the true ability of this amazing actress. "Theo James" also manages to ameliorate his character and stand up next to "Shailene", with both managing to develop their characters relationship in a satisfactory manner. "Ansel Elgort" manages to make use of his expanded role to take his character to the next level, even if no real room was given for him to do so. "Miles Teller"'s character was given most of the comedic baggage, in which he successfully takes advantage of. This time around "Kate Winslet" is much more natural as the badass evil character, which is shown through her clever subtle portrayal. "Zoe Kravitz", "Maggie Q", "Jai Courtney", "Mekhi Phifer" and "Ray Stevenson" were unfortunately given next to nothing substantial to do, especially when it came to "Jai" seeing the fate of his character. Addition of veterans "Naomi Watts" and "Octavia Spencer" was pleasurable yet their near limited appearance was a shameful for these exceptional actresses. Yet both did provide us with cheeky and enjoyable portrayals. The new additions of "Daniel Dae Kim", "Keiynan Lonsdale" and “Jonny Weston" was a welcomed one yet also limited in development. The addition and appearances of "Tony Goldwyn" and "Ashley Judd" was entertaining yet important for the main plot.

      'Insurgent' may have failed to improve in the same manner as 'Catching Fire' did, yet potential can still be sensed and hopes for more improvements is very likely in 'Allegiant Part 1'.

Official 'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' Poster.

-'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' Info:
-Based on: 'Insurgent' by Veronica Roth
-Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Jai Courtney, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, Daniel Dae Kim, Keiynan Lonsdale, Jonny Weston, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer, Tony Goldwyn and Ashley Judd.
-Studio(s): Red Wagon Entertainment, Mandeville Films, Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate.
-Directed by: Robert Schwentke.
-Screenplay by: Akiva Goldsman, Mark Bomback and Brian Duffield.
-Music by: Joseph Trapanese.
-Running Time: 119 minutes.
-Budget: $ 110,000,000.
-Box Office: -Domestic(US): $ 54,025,000.**
                     -Foreign: $ 47,000,000.**
-Ratings: -IMdb: 7.0/10.
               -Rotten Tomatoes: 32%.
               -Metacritic: 42%.

               -PERSONAL RATING: 7.7/10.

**Still Showing in Theaters Across the World.

-'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' Trailer: