On Sharp, we’ve already reviewed the book Divergent…twice. And maybe that’s a fitting to tribute to how amazing the book was. And so it was no surprise when the motion picture came out. But, despite the massive hype and thousands of fans eagerly awaiting the release date, the film was a flop.
One of the reasons that I really disliked the film was the way the director portrayed the book in which was completely different to the way that I (and, from raging reviews on other sites, I assume many others) imagined the book. The most striking example of this was the genre of this was the genre of the film. The book is a mix of adventure, action and romance but to me the film appeared to be a poorly made sci-fi film. At the beginning of the film, the view is informed that the events are taking place in Chicago, some way off into the future. However, in the books, this information is a key plot twist which is only revealed midway to the final book in the best selling trilogy. The film focuses far more attention on the laser guns, and high tech violence than on (which I think is more important) ever changing relationships of the main characters. I felt that Roth very cleverly showed how friendship groups evolve and change in reaction to events happening on a larger, political scale. The film was very crude in this respect, and even entirely omitted a character that was a catalyst for a big argument between the initiates.
I think that the result of this was that the film was ultimately…boring. It is not often I go to the cinema and find myself checking my watch, or wondering how Arsenal are doing. Yet because the director had mangled the genre and plot of the story, the film became unbelievable and fantastical. It was predictable and I felt no sympathy for the characters that had had me biting my nails for in the books.
Overall, I really, really did not enjoy the film Divergent due to its complete deviance from the book. Possibly the title: “Tris Prior: Inspired by Divergent.”, would be a more accurate title.
**
Matteo Fernandes
Sharp 