Director Robert Schwentke’s “Insurgent,”’ the second movie of the “Divergent” series, had the targeted audience of adolescents and action movie-lovers glued to their seats with the impressive cast performances and action=packed scenes.
Schwentke brings author Veronica Roth’s second installment of the best-selling series to life, with all members of the original cast returning and the addition of some new faces.
The story begins with events that pick up right where the previous movie left off. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is now a fugitive and is on the run from the city of Chicago after freeing members of the Dauntless faction from mind control by Jeanine Matthews, played by Kate Winslet.
Alongside Tris are her boyfriend Four (heo James), her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and Peter Hayes (Miles Teller). The group was hiding from Jeanine in Amity territory until they were discovered by Dauntless. The group then escapes on a train leading towards factionless territory.
Throughout the movie, Tris has nightmares about the death of her parents and she has fears about what would happen to her brother and boyfriend during all the chaos that was going on around them. With Jeanine hunting Divergents and trying to keep the faction system alive, it caused a war between the Factionless and the faction system. She then started to seek revenge on Jeanine and believes that the only way to stop the killings and the faction system is to kill her.
There were a lot of changes to Woodley’s character beyond a new, short haircut. Tris became more courageous and strong as the movie progressed. A scene in which Tris was in a trance and tried to save her mother from a moving, burning building had the audience at the edge of their seats.
Tris and Four demonstrated some romantic moments throughout the movie. Woodley and James continue to show the impressive chemistry on-screen by showing how they would risk their lives to save each other.
One example is when Tris went off and surrendered herself to Jeanine in order to save everyone from being tortured or killed. When Four discovered this, he rushed to the building where Tris was being used to open the box of unknown origins and broke her out her trance before she died.
Elgort’s performance as Caleb was impressive and accurate. His character was so determined about being selfless that he leaves Tris and Four to go somewhere where he could be more useful.
The audience also had a few laughs during the movie, all courtesy of Teller. His character shined with his rude humor toward his fellow fugitive Tris, for instance, when he said, “Once a stiff, always a stiff.”
Roth’s story in the second book was alluring because the characters reveal more about themselves and the choices they have made. One example is when Four’s mother Evelyn Johnson-Eaton, played by Naomi Watts, is revealed as leader of the factionless and the storyline touches upon on her and Four’s past.
The eye-catching action scenes kept the movie interesting, with gunfights, advanced technology and Tris’ bravery.
The movie’s special effects made the entire story more intense, like the scene where Tris was locked in a trance and she was fighting with herself on top of a building that was falling apart. The effects of the building being destroyed made the movie more realistic.
Bottom line, “Insurgent” is a must see film for those who want to find some action. If a person is a fan of the best-selling novels by Roth or the acting of Woodley, then this movie is the ideal choice.
