A great start to what I hope will be a superb franchise. Unlike many science-fiction stories, the narrative is focused on the main character's journey as she tries to identify where she fits in a post-war world. In fact, the main plot take a second role to the growth of her character for the main part of the movie, with a much more typical generic action ending. So if you're after a science fiction action romp then this isn't it, although it does have some lovely action scenes - one in particular had me rewind the scene to have the pleasure of watching it again. It is therefore fortunate the the main character is very well acted, and this film is more about her journey than about the wider societal issues that form the ending. The film is also nicely grounded despite it being set centuries in the future, so there is little in the form of distracting CGI visuals - not that I mind some eye-candy effects but it's refreshing to have a nicely fleshed out world that feels real. Looking forward to watching the sequel, which I suspect will have a more action now that the main story and characters have been introduced.

While the Hunger Games stories will sit at the top of the futuristic dystopian teen-angst genre, it is nice to see a movie which can credibly deserve to sit on the first branch down. Based on the novels by Veronica Roth we are transported to a dire futuristic Chicago where all citizens are assigned to a faction in their teen years following testing, while those exhibiting qualities of various factions are rounded up and exterminated. Our heroine Tris falls into the latter but keeps her true self hidden as she fights to survive in her chosen faction. I actually enjoyed Divergent as the action was steady and the tension was maintained throughout. A good start to the trilogy.

I really enjoyed this film even though it is probably aimed at a young audience. I identified with the chief protagonist,Tris, whose individuality renders her unable to fit into any of the five factions that make up a futuristic ,dystopian Chicago society. She is a Divergent, someone who cannot be pigeon holed into one category by the ruling elite. They see such types as dangerous ,unpredictable and a threat to social cohesion and they are hunted down and killed. Tris hides her secret and joins the daring ,warrior faction Dauntless.The film follows her progress as she undergoes a difficult training programme ,falls in love and tries to avoid detection. However in the background, one faction tries to usurp the governing role of another and this threatens Tris's family and the protective role of her Dauntless faction. Can she avoid detection and use her multi faceted skills to save the day ? "Divergent" is an exciting,imaginative film and is a critique of bad minded ruling elites desires to crush individuality and homogenise society into manageable ,ignorant little units. There's plenty of action,suspense and romance in this highly entertaining film.

Was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, as I had wondered if it would come across like a poor copy of the Hunger Games. While the lead is no Jennifer Lawrence - and the plot is not exactly deep - it's a fast paced film that really keeps you watching. Also liked the soundtrack.

Ok, let’s address the elephant in the room, Divergent was made purely to ride the coat tales of the massively successful Hunger Games franchise, a fact that would make most people apprehensive at the least. Who wants to watch the poor mans Hunger Games when you can just watch the actual Hunger Games? Well I can honestly tell you that the concept and characters are original and compelling enough for this film to be enjoyed without comparison to the afore mentioned franchise, that’s not to say that Divergent is better than Hunger Games, it’s just, Different.

From the get go I found this film drawing me in with its notion, Chicago, post a non-descript war, that has made the surrounding areas uninhabitable, found the only way to live peacefully is to divide society into several factions. There's Dauntless, the brave warriors; Amity, peaceful farmers; Candor, truth tellers; Erudite, the brainy; and Abnegation, the selfless. Teenagers take a test to determine which faction suits them best, but they are still free to choose what faction they would like to live their life in, those who don’t fit in any of the groups become the factionless, and live life out in squalor and poverty. Each of the five factions help balance with the other four and thus society carries on peacefully with stability. The reason the film drew me in straight away is that I found myself thinking, “that is actually a great way of doing things, I wonder if that would work in real life?” this is actually a weird line of thinking for a future dystopian film to provoke, so straight away, I had to give the story, or at least the concept, top marks. But we already knew that this film would provide us with an interesting story as it so proudly displays in the opening credits “Based on the book by Veronica Roth”.Read more ›

I thought this was a good stab at creating a dystopian future society. It captured very well the feeling of being different and having to hide this in a society where roles and behaviour are prescribed by a system. The characterisation was believable and I think the director was justified in spending quite a long time setting up the story by dwelling on the recruits training. Which was why I felt disappointed that the ending was so rushed. While I'm not a great fan of sequels, this film could have upped the ante and left the ending on a cliff hanger at the point when the take over is complete and all seems lost for the main protagonists. If ever a film needed an ending like this it is this one. Perhaps this story would have been more suited to a TV series because that is an ideal format to develop a slower narrative pace and set up repeated cliff hangers.

Like Enders Game, which initially appears to be little more than an extended video game, this film leaves the viewer with quite profound questions about conforming to an ideal of loyalty to the state and its often dubious motivations. It also attempts to show how empathy for others can sometimes lead people to question the kind of propaganda that is used to justify discrimination and conformity.

Some have complained that the attractiveness of the leads takes away from the divergent message but I think that's besides the point considering that classics like Blade Runner, Alien and every other big budget Hollywood production have cast attractive leads. Hollywood is built on conformity and stereotypes but still manages, at times, to rise above this.