Divergent

On one hand we have those apocalyptic films, such as "The Book of Eli", "9", "I Am Legend", "Omega Man", even "Planet of the Apes", then we have those teen 'angst' films we've seen recently such as the "Twilight" saga, "The Host", the "Hunger Games" saga. Now we have "Divergent", basically a cross between apocalyptic and teen 'angst' all in one film.

Set in a futuristic apocalyptic Chicago where society is divided into five factions that represent a different virtue or characteristic, teenagers, as they reach a certain point in their lives, must decide if they want to continue in their faction they were raised in or switch to another-- for the rest of their lives. Each teenager goes through an aptitude test to see what would be the best faction for them, however ultimately the final decision is theirs. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) makes a choice that surprises everyone. Her evaluator Tori (Maggie Q) tells her that her test was inconclusive and that she's divergent-- a position in where she doesn't fit in any faction. And also tells Tris not to tell anyone of this lest she could be killed as a 'threat' to the existing society.
Tris and her fellow faction-members have to live through a highly competitive initiation process to live out the choice they have made, all through the training by Four (Theo James) and Eric (Jai Courtney). They must undergo extreme physical and intense mental or psychological tests that transform them all. Ultimately, as Tris and Four discover a growing conflict that threatens to unravel their seemingly perfect society, they realize they need each other more than ever.

Others to round out the cast are Ashley Judd as Natalie, Tris' mom, Ray Stevenson as Marcus, leader of a faction, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Mekhi Phifer, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Christian Madsen and Amy Newbold as Christina, Peter, Max, Will, Al and Molly, respectively as other faction members of Tris', Kate Winslet as Jeanine, leader of the society,Tony Goldwyn as Andrew, Tris' dad, and Ansel Elgort as Caleb, Tris' brother.

This was directed with grit and shear intensity by Neil Burger ("Interview with the Assassin" '02, "The Illusionist" '06, "The Lucky Ones" '08, "Limitless" '11, "The Asset" (TV movie) '12). The pacing and pulsation of the characters was executed well. This was written by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor based on Veronica Roth's novel. The storyline was certainly intriguing, however the film's first 20 minutes or so took too long to establish characters and set up story. This could have easily been a 2 hour running time to keep the pace more consistent. Once it got going, the pace was riveting and had you rooting for those characters that were warranted. Besides the visuals being seamless, the chemistry between Tris and Four was great, much better than other films of this type.

If you like gloom and doom apocalyptic films and teen 'angst' films, you'll revel, because here you have a two-for-one sale all for the price of one ticket. How can you beat that?

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                        Rated: PG-13                         140mins.