Insurgent
Appeasing thirteen year old girls and boys is absolutely no easy feat. They are in the midst of tentative turmoil, their emotions are running high as they’d drift through thoughts and fantasies rapidly and differently. Sat with two young females over the weekend, as they furtively chat over different books they have devoured whilst the latest Insurgent, it’s clear that films with young adult dystopia themes are here to stay. For better or for worse. But hey, as my sister and her friend devoured every second, I’ve got to say that these “phenomenons” will continue to enchant the young adult populous.
Insurgent cannot compete against the likes of The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. It has it’s advantages but not enough to ebb away from the diastorous river of boredom.
Following where Divergent left us and Tris, a hero who does not fit into any fraction giving her the name Divergent, is on the run with her hot to trot boyfriend from the ruthless Janine who thinks the world should be controlled. And in doing so, she finds a box with a message from the elders. Only it’s locked and it requires Divergents to open it. That coveted all-knowing powerful one? Tris. Yeah. There’s the plot, you can guess what happens next.
Why is it Bad?
Christ, it is dull. The long overblown plot that hammered in the young adult tropes was highly predictable and such a yarn that it weighs heavily on your eyelids.. The first instalment was much of the same, pivoting around a good idea and wearing it down until it is a bland mesh of clichés. It would make an extremely great drinking game (we’ve planned it out already) but doesn’t do well for initial viewing. It picks at all the truly brilliant films such as The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner (hey, I enjoyed it) but stiches them together like Buffalo Bill wearing the skin of the slain women (and I find it artistically atrocious). Exposition to fights, fights to exposition: It rolls with this dragging pace that is never matched with the right level of intensity. Yawn.
Why is it Good?
The collection of actors are truly brilliant. Shailene Woodley encompasses that “I didn’t want any of this” trauma of Tris well enough to invest some of your emotion in her as the heroine. Whilst comparisons with Lawrence are inevitable at this stage, Woodley is a different breed and Tris feels a lot more unique and fresh in her struggle. Theo James has evolved from the “shit on his nose” antics and we wouldn’t say no either. Plus there is Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet all playing their “don’t entirely trust us” authority figure to combat the rising rambunctious young ones.
Really, it’s Miles Teller who steals every scene he is in, coming off the back of his stellar Whiplash performance. The much needed comic relief that never has an assured position in the midst of war makes him the most unpredictable character which is much needed in a film where nearly every vein is exposed. He’s just wonderful, delightful and makes the audience very excited to see what happens next.
It’s clear the entire budget went into bringing the dreamscapes and simulations to life which are great too look at (only not in that unnecessary 3D and studios should stop peddling it now). The action sequences are ferocious and there is an open ended “oooooo” moment at the finale. Look, as an adult, this was a complete yarn - held together by hot men and women as well as the glittery special effects that makes you go “oooooo” and “ahh” like a computerised firework display. It’s also nice to see Chicago as the centre stage and the city looks fantastic stripped away from its glory.
Ultimately, it impressed the young girls I was with and had them chatting away. At the end of the day, its target audience marked a massive tick beside it.