The much-anticipated sequel to Divergent is so bad it’s laughable. Insurgent is a science fiction, high budget version of Days of Our Lives.
Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance, which threatens to tear her society apart with the help from others on her side.
It is widely acknowledged that the Divergent series copies some themes and messages from Hunger Games and this continues to be true in this film. However, Insurgent proves that delivering any message is all about the delivery, as while Hunger Games is a fantastic series, this latest installment in the Divergent series is an atrocious piece of cinema. The “teen-series” film genre has existed ever since Harry Potter and some really fantastic franchises have come out of this phase, while I did not like the first Divergent film the sequel is far worse.
What surprises me most about this film is the amount of talent in it, Shaielene Woodley, the lead, is a fantastic actress, but maybe having such a weak script meant her performance would decline as well. From the array of talent in the film including Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Mekhi Phifer, Ansel Elgort and Australian Jai Courtney you think there would be a stand out performance, but alas there wasn’t. I honestly felt sorry for these talented actors who had to work with such an appalling script.
Overall the script lets the film down, its weak, inconsistent and really, really predictable. However, I’m sure that Insurgent will still lead the box-office over the weekend, even with its soap-opera feel!
1.5 Stars
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Screening courtesy of Palace Nova Cinemas