Divergent falls short of high expectations

Let's talk about young adult (hereafter YA) films.

Perhaps one of the most odd and, admittedly, diverse genres in media, Young Adult (YA) films come in as many varieties as there are colors. From the realistic to the fantastic, the lovely to the loveless, action to drama and everything in between, the genre has typically lacked any internal consistency, aside from the age range of the audience.

While Harry Potter and its like may technically fall into the category of YA fiction (on that gray border with children’s fiction), true modern YA films really seemed to gain prominence with the rise of the famous, or perhaps notorious, Twilight empire.  Typically targeted at the teenage and twenty-something demographic, modern YA work has become somewhat infamous for featuring overblown teenage drama, love triangles (or perhaps octagons) and, more recently, very grim and supposedly edgy fantastical plots and settings. Typically dystopian, and filled to the brim with teenagers whose fighting skills put Bruce Lee to shame, these films aim to be equally light and heavy.

It occurs to me that I may not be the best to look at this movie as it stands within the genre. I, admittedly, find much of the genre to be tired and filled with far too many clichés. However, I can still tell a good YA film from a poor one, and rarely has a film so lifelessly conformed to genre conventions as has Divergent.

Set in a society where people are essentially assessed and sorted into societal factions based on their psychological and physical potential, Divergent clearly opts into the dystopian cliché of most YA works, so immediately there’s one strike against it in the originality department. Upon taking her sorting test, protagonist Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) discovers that she is “divergent.” In universe, this means that she fits into any number of these categories of people and thus can’t be properly sorted. Out of universe, this means that she can act as inconsistently as possible during the plot, and audiences are just supposed to accept it.

After being advised to hide her ability from the public eye, Beatrice, or Tris, elects to join the Dauntless faction, which is essentially this world’s warrior class. As she joins up with the ranks of the Dauntless, she begins to develop her abilities, connecting with another Dauntless named Four (Theo James). She learns more about what it means to be divergent, conquers generic training montage obstacles and begins to uncover a sinister plot which would have serious repercussions for all societal classes.

The biggest problem with this film is that there is absolutely nothing new here, and audiences will pick up on this almost immediately. The characters are bland, cardboard cutouts, the likes of which we’ve all come to expect in films like this. That’s not to say they’re bad; poor Shailene Woodley is clearly giving her all. But whether it’s the script, atmosphere or past influences, she is essentially channeling the concentrated essence of Jennifer Lawrence throughout the film. If you know Katniss Everdeen, you know Beatrice; they are essentially the same character, at least personality-wise. The love story feels just like every other YA romance ever contrived. We all expect it to happen, despite how little logical buildup there may be. There are plenty of characters that all sport their own trademark quirks and oddities, but, with the exception of Four, most are utterly forgettable. To give credit where it’s due, James does give an endearing performance as Four. However, he is completely overshadowed by the film’s slow, formulaic, yet bloated atmosphere.

This film lacks originality right down to its color palette. The environments are bright, diverse and visually inspired, with a number of aesthetically appealing sets — or, at least, they should be. In editing, the production team decided to run the film through the same grayish misty filter so prevalent in the Hunger Games films, all four Twilight films and the last four Harry Potter movies. While not bad in and of itself, this filter has become so overused by now that it may as well be called the “YA filter.” The action scenes, while  certainly well-choreographed, are plagued with shaky camera effects, which make it entirely too difficult to figure out what is going on. Audiences will most definitely be begging the cameraman to take a few steps back every once in a while.

At the end of the day, Divergent comes out to be just one of many in the YA dystopian pack, which is very unfortunate. While the dystopian sorting may be overdone, the film could have been saved had the characters been compelling enough to take it in its own unique direction or address issues in a new or intriguing way. None of that happens. From start to finish, the plot is generic and utterly predictable. The characters are generic YA stereotypes and fall extremely flat. It’s filmed in a generic YA style, with a generic, overly sad and dramatic YA soundtrack. It’s disappointing how few new ideas come across in the film. If you are very, very into the genre, you may glean some enjoyment from this film; it is the cookie-cutter definition of the genre. For the rest, this is one doomed to be filed away on a shelf next to all the others of its ilk, as we struggle to remember which one was which.

Overall rating: 3/5