Divergent Review Roundup

The reviews for Divergent, the dystopian YA novel adaptation starring Shailene Woodley, have begun rolling in.Critics seem to agree that Woodley’s acting is the strong point of the film, which is getting a lot of comparisons to The Hunger Games. Whether or not its strong enough to carry the rest of the film seems to be a more contentious subject.Here’s some opinions from critics:Time Magazine says, “Woodley’s performance is wasted on what is starting to feel like a young-adult novel action-movie template, as opposed to a movie that at least attempts to explain why we should care about what’s happening on the screen. For a film that supposedly celebrates freethinking, there’s a woeful lack of it here..””It’s hard not to root for Ms. Woodley,” The New York Times says, “who has been coming on strong in recent indie titles like “The Descendants” and “The Spectacular Now,” but she seems palpably uncomfortable here. There’s a tentative, awkward quality to her physical performance that at times registers as a lack of confidence and that, as the story progresses, is badly at odds with her character’s intensifying ferocity. That hardly seems like Ms. Woodley’s fault, given that she’s ill-served by the production on so many levels, from the fight choreography to the dialogue and those eyelashes. But it’s finally galling because women will never break out of the representational ghetto they’ve been relegated to if you watch a movie like this one and think that the heroine, at least metaphorically, throws like a girl.”“…for the most part, it’s all so generic, so paint-by-numbers. Woodley makes Tris easy to root for — only she and Winslet seem to be having any fun — but it’s hard to become invested in the convoluted, rambling story. And at two hours and 19 minutes, it rambles for a while.” says The Arizona Republic.”The whole thing is, of course, a setup for two sequels, and quite possibly the trilogy’s fans will be pleased by the movie’s (mostly) faithful allegiance to the book and by Woodley’s winning presence. The rest of us might find Divergent‘s 140-minute running time rather long and its story drawn-out and familiar; might be tired of seeing teenagers viciously battling each other on the big screen; and might find ourselves wondering where the secret Dauntless hair salon is (Tris clearly spends a lot of time there), says The Seattle Times.The Associated Press says, “At 143 minutes…the movie feels overly long, and by the end, you may want to hop onto one of those trains yourself and hope it arrives somewhere a lot less grim. But two sequels await. So there’s always hope.”Variety says, “Tackling her first leading role in a project of this size, Woodley can be wonderful when she’s allowed to show a bit of sass, but while she easily nails the film’s most emotional, actorly moments, her Tris hasn’t quite fully gelled as an autonomous character. Woodley’s The Spectacular Now co-star, Miles Teller, gets most of the film’s laughs as Tris’ antagonistic fellow initiate, while her friends played by Zoe Kravitz and Ben Lloyd-Hughes are left mostly spinning their wheels.The Hollywood Reporter says, “In the hands of Burger, whose credits include The Illusionist and Limitless, the story’s elements of spectacle, decay, symbolism and struggle only rarely feel fully alive. Lackluster direction in the early installments of other YA franchises hasn’t slowed their momentum, though. Divergent will be no exception.”In Divergent, In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she’s Divergent and won’t fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it’s too late.Divergent comes to theaters March 21.