Hey, it feels ages since I’ve posted anything. I don’t think I can not not blog, but apparently when you’re planning a wedding, it’s hard to focus two at once (unless maybe you have a wedding planner). Some of you have guessed it right from my hiatus post, but I don’t want to jinx it until it happen 
If I can, I’d split myself into two or three of myself. But I’m glad in only months me and (now) my husband could plan our wedding. And thankfully, all worked and went really well. The sky was clear and the ceremony went smoothly. After the wedding, we have 5 days off work to spent together. And I move to our place, so things went quite hectic. I’m still moving stuffs on the process now.
I was actually looking for time to blog. But only after a week I can manage to do it! Maybe it’s considered fast for some people. I have a couple of movies to watch in March rather in February, possibly because I need to let my stress down in the month. But only Divergent the first 2014 movie I watched (!). I actually still hoping soon to watch The Wind Rises but the available cinema was a tad far from my new rented house (plus the ticket price is a little pricey). Let’s move on to the review!
Weekend View : Divergent (2014)
Based on a book series, Divergent seem to fit in the survival story of a teenage girl hero in a sci-fi world, much like Hunger Games. Hooking one of the favorite teenage actress as the lead character Tris, Shailene Woodley, who have a charisma for a leading protagonist.
Seeing her in The Descendants (2011), The Spectacular Now (2013) and told to be the next Marc Webb’s Mary Jane in The Amazing Spider-Man series (but she’s told to have schedule issues because she already sign contract to be in Divergent), makes her to be a strong candidate to be the next successful actress in the future. Makes me kind of wonder just how much good Divergent is, because I kind of looking forward for her to be Mary Jane. It’s hard not to compare this movie to Hunger Games, even just from the first installment.
Divergent have five classes of society groups; Abnegation (selfless), Amity (kind), Candor (honest), Erudite (intelligent) and Dauntless (brave), based on their personalities. While the rare personality is Divergent, who have more than one fraction personality. Raised in a Abnegation group and parents, Beatrice and her brother feels there’s a certain hopes for them to pick Abnegation in the aptitude test (the test to determine which fraction they will be, they can choose even the test results is different). Tris is one of the rare, a Divergent but knows that she couldn’t tell anyone about her test result, since she’s threatened to be dismissed or belong to non-fraction, the ones who are exiled from the society.
When Tris choose Dauntless (she always admired them since she was little), she need to adapt drastically, especially in the physics category. She need to push herself to be out from the bottom ranks, unless she’ll be exiled. Even when she met new friends who were in other fractions, ones who are very close to her is Christina (Zoe Kravitz), she’s challenged by Dauntless leader for newbies, Four (Theo James) and Eric (Jai Courtney). Tris also haunted by the fear of people knowing her test result, especially by Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), leader of Erudite, who thinks Divergent is a big threat for the society.
“The future belongs to those who know where they belong.”Unlike Katniss (Hunger Games) who seem to have a bold personality from the day she was born, Tris have a softer personality and seems weak but actually have a stronger mental than her looks. People call her stiff because of her big languish eyes and weak body. In Dauntless world, Tris looked weak but her actions later makes her stand out from the crowd.
Do I like Divergent? Yes, and no. Did I find it memorable? Parts of it. It didn’t stand far from Hunger Games, but certainly Tris was more tough than Bella in Twilight. You can certainly see how Tris isn’t exactly as brutal as the other Dauntless. It have a challenging story (deciding who you are and the questions for identity are food for teens), and most of the time I’m afraid something would break Tris. But maybe that’s what makes it interesting. Divergent didn’t exactly a mind blowing entertainment, but it wasn’t a bad one either.
Like any teenage movies, there seems to be a little hint of a possibility for love between the characters. I won’t tell who’s the guy who fall for Tris, but the plot makes it a tad cliche, though their similar background and struggle each other was sweet for me.
Other supporting actors I loved in the movie; definitely Kate Winslet as the beautiful, charismatic/motherly but intimidating Erudite leader, Jeanine. The fact that she’s close to Tris’ parents as board member makes her more daunting. Zoe Kravitz actually contributed a good performance as Tris’ best friend. I was puzzled why Ashley Judd is ‘just a mother’ here, but the puzzle is gone once you watch the climax.
Expectation for the sequel? Well, I haven’t read the series, but I am hoping for Tris to be tougher. More great actors as a support and hopefully more from Woodley. Excellent scores, obviously. And visuals are a must.
Movie Score :
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What did you watch last weekend? What do you think about Divergent?
