THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT

"Find them...every last one of them"



          Before I wrote this, I took a quick peek at what I wrote about Divergent a year ago, and I must say, what I wrote back then, feels like its responded/answered in Insurgent. Without spoiling anything, what I said about the weirdness & extremity of the world, is answered. About the villain, well it turns out that Kate Winslet's character is sticking around but the character works for the story. 

          And I mentioned that there's too many characters in Divergent, not in here...it's easier to catch on with the characters here. Finally, while Divergent's ending is abrupt and begs for a sequel, Insurgent feels complete by the end, and begs of no sequel, really (although there is one - well, actually two, in terms of movies...you know, the splitting trend).

          For most of the part of this movie, it feels generally like any other middle chapter. Picking up right where we left off the characters, jumping right into the action, progressing from one place to the other, one mission to the next. The characters have been well established, and there's less characters to follow, so we can connect more with them. And I have to say, surprisingly, I like Miles Teller's character - his allegiance is unclear and feels like a very multi-dimensional character, and provides a lot of the humour/jokes. (Now, I'm more confident of him in playing Mr. Fantastic in the upcoming Fantastic Four...).

          Now, meanwhile, the last half hour of the film felt very intense and there's a lot of revelation. So, while most of the film felt generically entertaining, the final act of the film is so intriguing and suspenseful, with a small almost-twist* in between, and a game-changing resolution to the act. It was a very powerful ending, but as I said previously, didn't really beg for more, as it feels like a complete ending on its own.

(* = short spoiler paragraph below the verdict)

VERDICT

          Both fans and non-fans should really be able to enjoy this. A decent film on its own. Apart from the intense final act, the film has nothing special to offer, but still entertaining, nevertheless - with some great action sequences, humour, and character. While not begging for the sequel to come soon, here's hoping it could follow up a good start by Divergent, and now Insurgent, too.

SCORE: 7.0


### SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! ###### SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! ###

          The almost-twist I'm talking about is when Tris seemingly died. Now, logically, it shouldn't be the case, because we all know the story has to continue to the sequel. So, the whole time, I was waiting for the already-expected twist to come out. But in that moment, I was momentarily shocked in what I'm seeing, and it still provides some suspense, and more importantly, intrigue, as to how the twist will play out. Not bad, though!