Diverging from the book is exactly what this movie didn’t do

Summit Screening Room

Story by Tyler Snell, staff writer

Book-adapted-movie, “Divergent,” attempts to create the ideals of a perfect society. People would betray their family over this concept. Unfortunately, the producers failed and lost poorly spent dollars. Divergent was made to keep viewers entertained. However, it did exactly the opposite. The movie, “Divergent,” made viewers bored, left out important parts of the book and left the uninteresting parts in.

The movie is about a post-apocalyptic society that lives in Chicago. The citizens are split up into factions based on what they value most. Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, Dauntless and Candor are the five factions that represent valor qualities. This was made to keep everyone in control.

The main character is Beatrice Prior, played by Shailene Woodley, and she is a member of Abnegation (selflessness). She later changes her name to Tris. When children reach a certain age, they must take a test to determine what faction they will live and work for for the rest of their lives. Most of the time children don’t switch factions, but if they do they will never see their family again.

Beatrice receives three results for who she should be and is known as a Divergent. She is feared by society because she has independent thought. She chooses Dauntless and faces many trials and has to fight against her peers. She has to fight against the people that she lives with in order to stay alive. She has to overcome her fears, and she has to go against her morals and kill her friends, haunting her forever.

The movie stays true to the book, resulting in a boring beginning because the producers try to set the scene for forever. The first 45 minutes drag. I read the book, and it was entertaining, but the movie made me want to fall asleep. The producers should have sped up the beginning to keep the audience hooked.

The movie also left key points out that add to Tris’s character. Her mother is shot during the fighting, and Tris had to watch her die. For some reason the producers felt it was okay to leave this out. They also left out Tris’s lover controlling a simulation where everyone is killing each other. The fighting is a result of people from the Erudite faction trying to take over the government. Both of these scenes force Tris to be braver, have a stronger will and realize that she is capable of overcoming obstacles.

Overall the movie moves too slowly, doesn’t keep the audience captivated and doesn’t connect points throughout the story.

I would only go see it if you have a desire to see a bland storyline that progresses way too slowly, but don’t blame me for wasting your eight dollars on two hours of dullness because the producers try to set the scene too much. They were following the book resulting in the slow speed of the movie.

Movie Rating: B-, for brackish, distasteful and uninteresting.