Divergent

THE GIST: A great war has left Chicago, and seemingly the world, in ruins. Humanity's survivors have divided themselves up into five different factions, based on virtues, to maintain order. One day, Tris realizes she doesn't fit the established mold and this puts her life in danger.

After the massive success enjoyed by The Hunger Games franchise, it's no surprise that Hollywood rushed to put into production another movie based on a YA (Young Adult) novel.

Unfortunately, while sufficiently entertaining, Divergent doesn't really bear the same cachet, and right from the get-go one can see why. Both feature dystopian futuristic societies, but while Games pits geographical districts against one another (think the modern day equivalent of nations), Divergent asks us to believe that people have accepted to be divided up into factions based on a personality trait.

That's hard to fathom in and of itself, but it gets worse when you consider that the faction you're in determines your duties/job in society and that the choice is made when you're a teenager and lasts for the rest of your life. As in, there's no changing your mind when you're 45 because all of a sudden you're sick of being a soldier and would like to become a teacher.

That said, if you buy into the premise (and remember, it's based on a Young Adult book, keyword here being young...), then you'll likely enjoy the end result. The cityscape is perfectly rendered and the post-war society has its intriguing aspects.

Shailene Woodley, a very talented young actress, does her best within the constraints of the script, as do Kate Winslet, Tony Goldwyn, and Ashley Judd. Theo James, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, and Zoë Kravitz all hold their own.

THE BOTTOM LINE: While it clearly suffers in comparison to its older (and better) cousin series, Divergent can be entertaining even if its message feels flimsier.

Grade: 6