Insurgent follows on from Divergent with Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) on the run and being hunted while trying to find allies in their fight against Jeanine (Kate Winslet). Desperate to save the people she loves Tris must find out what her parents Faction sacrificed themselves to protect and why Erudite want to stop them.
I'm not going to lie, I had to good a synopsis to remind myself what happened in this film and it was only a few days ago that I watched it. I would understand this confusion if I hadn't read the book but I have and I still couldn't work out what was going on and why. The whole film is so choppy and rushed that you have no idea who, what or why at any point.
The supporting cast (Winslet excluded) are boring and dry and of little interest throughout and I'm sure (but can't remember details) that we were introduced to more members of the Amity clan and the Factionless in the book but the meetings with both of these felt rushed and pushed along to get to the 'dramatic' scenes. I love seeing Kate Winslet in a bad guy role and she took it on really well with her creepy calmness (until the end that is) and sharp suits - she upped her game this time and it paid off!
I don't like Shailene Woodley, I did love her in The Fault in our Stars and I thought that may be a turning point for me, but it wasn't. Maybe its my weird obsession with Jennifer Lawrence hindering my opinion but I just can't get on board with Woodley. I think her acting skills in this are shocking compared to her previous work (or maybe its the script she has been fed to work with), honestly, I just found her irritating and awkward throughout.
I didn't have high expectations for this and luckily I didn't, it was disappointing as it was the better of the books for me. Unfortunately, I read the final book a long time after the second one and didn't enjoy it because I had lost the flow of the story - meaning I don't have much hope for the next one either!!
I feel like I need to see this because I saw the first one...but I really, really don't want to!
ReplyDeleteTo put it simply....don't!
Delete- Jen
Nice review but I gotta disagree. I thought the plot was established well and the cast was great, though some people like Kravitz could have been used more than others like Teller. I really seem to be in the minority with this series since I struggle a lot with the Hunger Games phenomenon. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see someone disagree with me, i really wanted to like it but i just found it so difficult to watch. Did you read the books at all?
Delete- Jenna
Jai Courtney the male version of Tara Reid, i hated this and i gave Divergent solid marks because i was hoping it was building to something interesting
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
Delete- Jen
Wow, a 4/10 rating? I too found it a bit choppy in parts but I feel it smoothed out enough by the end. It may help that I didn't have high expectations for it in the first place seeing how its just another sequel to a movie I really enjoyed. Had I went back and watched Divergent I may not have even noticed the choppy scenes at all, who knows. I wouldn't go as far to say Shaillene's acting skills are terrible, maybe a bit overdone, but I would take her movies over JLaw's any day, I just don't find JLaw to be very believable. She was great in the first two Hunger Games but everything else I've seen her in just hasn't held true to her style I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise great review, Jenna..
For the most part it was completely different to the books which I loved, this didn't help because I was expecting Insurgent and got something completely different. I have loved Woodley in a lot of her work but in this i just find her irritating.
DeleteJennifer Lawrence however is my golden girl, I have loved her in everything I have seen so far!
- Jenna