By Dylan Bradley/ne news editor
Once again, a teen sci-fi book series has been turned into a movie franchise. Meh.
Divergent has all of the trademarks: a strong female lead, an over-attractive male counterpart (Four played by Theo James) and plentiful holes in the story.
The film follows a young woman named Tris (Shailene Woodley), a dystopian society member who must choose one of five factions to live in for the rest of her life. The society tests young adults to determine the faction they fit into best.
The Divergent do not fit perfectly into any faction and have characteristics from multiple factions.
It’s surprising to see so many recognized actors on screen, such as Ashley Judd playing Tris’ mother, Maggie Q playing a member of Dauntless, Mekhi Phifer playing a faction leader and Kate Winslet playing the main villain.
The tension leading up to Tris’ choice of faction is well done. However, if I had read the book and knew what was coming, it would have seemed drawn out.
The action scenes are OK with plenty of hand-to-hand combat and gunplay.
The relationships between Tris and her family are some of the strongest scenes, especially between Tris and her mother.
The romantic relationship isn’t built up very well, but the actors are certainly lust-worthy.