By NATALIE SACKET & CHRIS PUNTO
Columnists
This week we decided to diverge from the new releases…see what we did there? Our pick this week:
“Insurgent” (2015)
Chris’ Review-
3 factions out of 5
Wow. This makes me feel kind of like a seasoned veteran at this game. Now I will have reviewed both “Divergent” and “Insurgent.” This is cool. Anyway, now to the movie review part.
So seeing as how all of you are loyal fans and know exactly what I thought about “Divergent,” that it was a cheesy copycat version of “The Hunger Games” blah blah blah, we can go straight into “Insurgent.” This movie surprised me. It did a good job for a sequel of a movie I disliked. The actors grew further into their roles and the flow of the movie was all around better.
Shailene Woodley, although I wasn’t exactly a huge fan of her new haircut, did a better job of conveying all of her emotions and traits. This I feel is important to the film because she is supposed to be the perfect specimen of all these traits that this society has set up. Theo James did a good job of … being an attractive male? Whatever. I’ll let it slide since all movies have one of those. *Cough cough* Liam Hemsworth. One actor who I hated that I loved was Miles Teller. His character is a certified jerk, but he was so witty and cool that you can’t help but like him. One problem I did have was that there was not a whole lot of room for other supporting characters to grow because the movie stressed the main actress so hard. I’ll bet she is a nightmare to work with, but that’s just me.
My biggest problem with the movie is something that I should really be taking out on the book series. The ending sucks. I’m sorry to all the fangirls out there who are going to disagree with me and tell me that they cried tears of magic and joy at the end, but it did suck. Without giving away any spoilers, as if those of you who actually want to watch it haven’t already seen it, the ending leaves little room for a sequel. It just had to be done because that’s what the people want. If the series ended right here, it would actually leave some mystery and question and awe. Instead, that’s going to be ruined by another two-part movie based on one book. You disgust me, Hollywood.
Bottom line: wait for the DVD. Actually, wait for the RedBox. It is definitely worth the watch from a Redbox. It’s one of those movies that you can be playing games on your phone to, look up and say oh explosions, or oh sex, and then continue on your phone. I’m probably being too harsh. It was good compared to “Divergent.” I’ll leave it at that.
Natalie’s Review-
2 factions out of 5
Around a year ago I gave a fairly good review to the first film of the “Divergent” series. I’m sad to say that its sequel may be a significant factor in the plummeting success of this series. This is disappointing, because I had high hopes for this series’ theatrical adaptation. Perhaps we can only hope that the third film will redeem the series.
I hate to make the typical comparison to the “Hunger Games” series, but this film reminded me too much of the latest of that series, “Mockingjay: Part 1.” There were several PTSD issues occurring with Tris, the heroine. It didn’t feel as genuine, though.
The film was too dependent on CGI effects and special effects, and those were not even cleanly executed at all times.
Also.. SO MUCH teen angst and whiny teenage romance. I could not handle it for a solid two hours.
This film left me wanting more and with many questions. For instance… Tris, dear heroine, since you are a fugitive, why is your biggest concern whether or not your boyfriend will like your haircut? And why is your makeup perfectly applied all the time? Aren’t you busy hiding from your government and attempting to stay alive? And dear sweet EVIL Kate Winslet… What happened to sweet Rose of “Titanic” or quirky Clementine of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?” You’re such a witch in this series. WHY?
Bottom Line: It is definitely not the strongest of the many young adult film adaptations currently coming out in theatres.. I’d say it’s worth it only if you are a die-hard fan of the series.