Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, Naomi Watts, Theo James, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, Jeff Daniels, Ansel Elgort, Bill Skarsgård
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 35: A DYSTOPIAN MOVIE
Description: After the earth-shattering revelations of “Insurgent”, Tris (Shailene Woodley) must escape with Four (Theo James) beyond the wall that encircles Chicago, to finally discover the shocking truth of the world around them.
Review: The “Divergent” series has so far followed the practically all the conventions of the young adult genre. The third and final book was supposed to be two films, but the second half will be a series instead.
“Insurgent” worked mainly as an aftermath of the events of the first film and the setups for future parts were rather brief. In the final part the dictatorial faction system of a futuristic Chicago collapsed after it became clear that this society was an experiment to restore humanity. Or something like that. The main point was that the oppressed Divergents were not a problem but the solution for a peaceful future. As if you would expect something different from a film series that appeals mainly to insecure teenagers.
This hopeful end is turned upside down in the first minute of “Allegiant”. Freed from a totalitarian regime, the inhabitants of walled Chicago flock to the gates to explore the outside world. Unfortunately, their new leader doesn’t like it and locks things up. Typical case of meeting the new boss who happens to be the same as the old boss they initially hated. Of course ‘messiah’ Tris doesn’t care about such measures, so she tried to escape with a group of companions. Soon it turns out that keeping the gates closed wasn’t such a crazy idea; the outside world is a radioactive wasteland in which it’s hard to survive. Fortunately, the company is taken care of by those who run the Chicago experiment.
It is praiseworthy that a film series that has never surpassed mediocrity before doesn’t demand the same angelic patience from the viewer in this film. There are enough plot developments and well filmed action scenes for two hours. However, the CGI and special effects often look really bad, where both previous movies did look really beautiful.
The story offers few surprises and the look of the film is rather uninspiring. The movie is even at times a bit dull.
Also in terms of characters, not a lot new is offered. Main character Trisonce again gets a chance to save mankind and the contribution of her boyfriend Four is mainly of shooting and kicking people to the ground. Peter on the other hand does provide some cool moments. He was just an annoying character in the first film, now he has developed into an unpredictable wildcard.
“Allegiant” is definitely the least of the series, that wasn’t all that great to begin with.
Rating: 2/ 5
