When one person is needed to pass a test that could be the key to society’s future, all hell does break loose.

The movie “Insurgent” was released March 20. I can’t say this movie was well-anticipated by the population, but those who enjoyed the first movie, based on the book trilogy by Veronica Roth, had fairly high hopes for Insurgent.

The movie starts with the two main characters Tris, played by Shailene Woodley, and Four, Theo James, running through the forest away from danger. The audience is then pulled from that dream only to find Tris safe on the ground in the exact location she felt danger. Now this would be a fairly rudimentary dream had it not laid out a motif for the rest of the movie. Danger. Specifically danger following Tris Prior, a Divergent.

Tris, originally from Abnegation, a faction based on selflessness, transferred into Dauntless, a faction focused on bravery, was found hiding in Amity after the factions fell apart when the war began; a war started by Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews, played by Kate Winslet.

Divergents are all in danger in this war. They are being killed because they are thought to be a threat to society. Why? Because they are different, and different is not okay, right? When will people learn? Yet, it isn’t until about the middle of the film that we find out why the Erudite leader is out killing and also searching for a specific Divergent.

There is a box with each faction displayed on each side of a cool, futuristic capsule. A 100 percent Divergent is needed to open the box. In the box is a note from the founders of the enclosed city.

As expected, Tris is the one Jeanine picks to hopefully release the key to the future of society. Tris is placed in a simulation where she has to prove she has qualities of each of the factions including bravery, selflessness, intelligence, honesty, and peacefulness whereas other citizens contain only one of those assets.

There is so much going on in this movie, but one other important thing to note is sides are rallying. While Jenine is brutally attacking the city, the Factionless are creating an army to take down the hedonistic leader. The Factionless are led by the supposedly very dead mother of Four; turns out, she isn’t dead.

Now without ruining too much of the movie, I’ll just say we may or may not get an answer from the box that may or may not change the way the characteristically separated society views their enclosed world.

I have a few complaints with this movie. First, every time Tris gets into trouble, her very handsome,
muscular, hunky… sorry I’m ranting, Tris’s lover, Four, is right there to save her from looming doom. Now if Miss Tris is so dang great, why doesn’t she have the ability to break away from certain deadly situations herself? Don’t get me wrong, I’d throw myself into danger to be saved by this man, but why is the damsel always in distress? The woman who supposedly changes the world as they know it can’t stinking escape danger on her own; that’s some hero.

While the movie is almost entirely out of order compared to the book, the film is by far more jolting. At certain parts in the book, it lagged. Yet, because the book is filled with ten times more detail than the movie even attempted to touch, important scenes are left out. Four’s father is constantly mentioned in the book, but in the movie, it’s like he doesn’t exist. Also, the whole scene where the title is introduced is entirely cut. Not like the entire movie isn’t filled with “Insurgent behavior,” but come on, it’s the title.

I can’t complain too much. The graphics, CGI, action scenes and actors were all on point and made the movie thrilling. Plus, I will most definitely go to see the final movie in the series “Allegiant,” if we are so blessed to have it hit theaters, because I just have to know how it ends.

So do I recommend the movie? Yeah sure, if you didn’t read the book. If you read the book, prepare to be ticked.

3 out of 5 stars.