This is not a disappointing sequel for me, I haven't read the books so I can judge the film on it's own. While the first movie needed to explain more things and spent a lot of time on what the Dauntless are about, this one shows some facets of other factions: Amity and (more interesting) Candor. Abnegation is virtually destroyed and Erudite is pretty much the enemy. I have always found this division between 5 factions what makes Divergent really interesting, besides the theme of not fitting in a system. Because those themes were already covered in the first part, most of the film shows either chasing, surrendering or attacking, but it does those things well. It's pretty much an action film and one that looks great.
Once more, the lead character, though a very good actress, is not very believable when she floors men twice her size in hand to hand combat. Cutting her hair short for a more boyish appearance (Tris looks very girlie and wide eyed) cannot change that. Fortunately she is not too much of a Mary-Sue and has to accept some losses and show vulnerability.
The movie clearly had a bigger budget and threw in a lot of neat special effects and spectacular sights. It was a pleasure to look at. I don't really care for fx that much but for a futuristic sci fi...design and visuals can be very important and they certainly didn't cut corners in that department.
The movie can be very dark, much more so than the first installment, and both innocents and antagonists get killed without mercy.
The ending of the film is however very positive, it feels almost like an end to the trilogy and it makes me curious what's next.
This film is getting bashed on a bit too much. It's not brilliant, but neither are the Hunger Games (which were hardly original, considering ). It's aimed at a teen audience. And yet, the political structure and the societal order are much more interesting in the Divergent series. I found this film entertaining from beginning to end and it had some nice twists in store.
Once more, the lead character, though a very good actress, is not very believable when she floors men twice her size in hand to hand combat. Cutting her hair short for a more boyish appearance (Tris looks very girlie and wide eyed) cannot change that. Fortunately she is not too much of a Mary-Sue and has to accept some losses and show vulnerability.
The movie clearly had a bigger budget and threw in a lot of neat special effects and spectacular sights. It was a pleasure to look at. I don't really care for fx that much but for a futuristic sci fi...design and visuals can be very important and they certainly didn't cut corners in that department.
The movie can be very dark, much more so than the first installment, and both innocents and antagonists get killed without mercy.
The ending of the film is however very positive, it feels almost like an end to the trilogy and it makes me curious what's next.
This film is getting bashed on a bit too much. It's not brilliant, but neither are the Hunger Games (which were hardly original, considering ). It's aimed at a teen audience. And yet, the political structure and the societal order are much more interesting in the Divergent series. I found this film entertaining from beginning to end and it had some nice twists in store.