Movie Review: Insurgent

While I struggled through the book version a few years ago (let’s just say I took many extended breaks as I attempted to get through it) I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed watching Insurgent. Starring Shailene Woodley as lead character Tris, the second film begins right where the first film left off with her and Four (played by Theo James) on the run after the factions were hit by the dangerous Jeanine and the Erudite forces in an attempt to gain control and take down all the Divergent. Tris is full of regret from that day and as they make their way to other factions for safety, her secrets finally come out. Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller return in their roles as characters you never quite know where their trust lies. New characters also appear, with quick performances from Octavia Spencer and Naomi Watts (who plays Four’s mysterious mother, setting up for a bigger role in the next film.) As I sit here thinking about the film, I find myself unsure of how I could really condense the plot into a understandable few sentences, which is probably a problem, but I did find the simulation scenes interesting. There were a few too many “fake outs” where it ends up being a dream or a simulation within a simulation, but I was kept entertained and felt like I understood what what going on. The biggest flaw in this series in my opinion is that ultimately there doesn’t seem to be a main goal for the characters. What are they trying to do or gain is uncertain to me (Are they trying to be free? Bring the factions together? Escape?) and as the film concludes after defeating one force, the journey ahead is unclear as to what they are planning to do with new information they obtain. Since I didn’t give the final book in the series, Allegiance, a chance (but know a few of the spoilers), I will be interested to see how the story of Tris concludes.