“Divergent” is the first movie in the “Divergent” series which is based on the books. This 2 hour and 19 minute movie came out on March 21, 2014.
This movie takes place with a girl named Tris Prior (Shallene Woodley) who lives in a futuristic world divided into 5 factions. On their 16th birthday, people will take a test to see if they are either Dauntless, Amity, Erudite, Abnegation or Candor. When Tris took her test, her results came back more than one, meaning that she was divergent. Which divergents aren’t allowed in this world because they are viewed as overpowered. So in order for Tris to survive, she chooses to reside in dauntless. She struggles there at first, but with the help of Four (Theo James) she significantly improves. As time goes on, they figure out that Tris and Four are both divergents, and are trying to eliminate them. They end up stopping Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) from eliminating the Abnegation faction.
A major part in this movie is when Tris has to take her physical and mental tests during her initiation into the Dauntless faction. These tests show her biggest fears, which are being devoured by crows, drowning in a tank, being kidnapped, killing her family, ocean and rocks and lastly being burned at the stake. These tests put her into these situations, but since she’s a divergent she can pass them easily without realizing they aren’t real. Unfortunately, in order to pass the test without causing suspicions, Four had helped her perform the test like a dauntless would.
Another major part of this movie is the themes of identity. Throughout the movie, Tris struggles to figure out who she is. Since she’s a divergent she falls under many of the factions. She chooses to live dauntless and adapt to their way of life and environment. Even though she does well in dauntless, she knows that it’s not just her. She realizes that she doesn’t really belong in any of them, and she’s just her own person.
Taking all of this into account, “Divergent” is highly recommended for people ages 13 and up who enjoy Action/Sci-fi movies with some violence shown.
