Divergent...

     So. Divergent. I don't really know how to say it or what to say. It was good. I'll give you that. But there was something left unfulfilled. Intensity. For such and intense novel, the movie was severely lacking in the intensity department. There were no edge-of-your-seat moments. Even the fight scenes were lacking intensity. Even when Christina was dangling over the chasm, I still was comfortable in my seat. I mean, my face was probably screwed up in that "Ah!" face look, but I knew that she was going to be okay. Of course, that's from reading the book, but I was hoping that the movie would have made me be like, "Is she going to be okay?!?!" Instead, I had no doubts. I just felt like the entire movie was

I don't know what to say...???

lacking in tension. For example, the relationship between Tris and Four went from loathing to love in practically a split second. There was no awkward middle ground. And in the book, even when Four started being nice to Tris, there was still an underlying dislike- or at least fear- of her. In the movie, there were no underlying emotions. It was just kind of all put on the table for everyone to see. Another thing- the computer graphics weren't stellar. Most parts were good, but the zipline scene and a few others were pretty fake looking. Oh, another thing! There was ZERO romance between Christina and Will! That kind of plays a major part in the second book! And may I mention that Four is waaaay too old? Shailene Woodley is 22 and Theo James is 29! In the movie, Shailene could pass for 16. Theo could not. He looks like he's 29. Romance between a 16-year-old and an almost-30-year-old... That's creeping its way into pedophile zone.

     When the movie was over, I just kind of sat there. I felt like it couldn't be the end, because I hadn't felt anything AMAZING. For example, when viewing Catching Fire in the theater, I was so enthralled in it that when I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the movie, I raced down the hallway thinking, "I'm Katniss Everdeen!" But with Divergent, there was no desire in me to be Dauntless or to be Tris. Which was disappointing, since AB, DL, and I had spent so long Dauntless-ing up.

     Now for the good parts!

Shailene Woodley and Veronica Roth on set.

It was really cool that Veronica Roth (the author) was in the movie and you could actually see her (she was the first one out on the roof in the zipline scene and she was standing in the background beside Tris while Tris was about to get on the zipline).
Ansel Elgort is definitely a very talented actor. I can't wait to see him in The Fault in Our Stars.
All of Will's lines were great. I loved his character.
Shailene Woodley is a good crier. Her eyes almost spilled over many a time.
The scene where Tris's mom dies is sad and believable.
The costuming was good.
The Dauntless compound was pretty much like I pictured it.
They did a good job with the fear simulations.
Miles Teller was a great Peter.
The cuts/bruised knuckles/wounds looked realistic.
Good soundtrack.

Basically, it was a good movie, and it met my expectations. But it didn't go beyond them.

Day 121 Song Recommendation: "This Is the Last Time" by Keane.

-SE Wagner