I have a cup of tea in my hand and many thoughts in my head about the current trend of lack-luster dystopian novels being adapted to even more lack-luster films. But the question is, where do I even begin to describe what is wrong with this sequel to Detergent, sorry, Divergent.

Before I begin I would like to direct you toward a hilarious twitter which sums up everything currently wrong with every young adult dystopian novel pretending to be the Hunger Games.


Pretty much Insurgent was Shailene Woodley getting to reunite with all her boyfriends in the same place. She dates Four in this one (Theo James), Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) in the Fault in Our Stars and Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) in the Spectacular Now. Yeesh.

Here they all are sharing a tension filled scene about who other than the main protagonist? Does this film fail a reverse bechdel test due to the fact that the men only ever discuss Tris? If so, I approve of this writing, keep up your mini-feminism Hollywood. 


In all honesty Insurgent wasn't a horrible film, it was just a film that I wouldn't want to watch more than once. Whilst some of the casting choices were questionable, seeing as Four despite apparently being 18 looks closer to being 35, the overall theme of the film was clear and the pace was relatively lively. 

I had some issues with the action sequences, mostly the very noticeable CGI and length, not to mention the improbability of the stunts that tended to reduce the immediacy for the viewer. At one point Tris manages to defy all laws of physics and gravity by making a leap that not even dear old Legolas Greenleaf would have been able to achieve. 


There was the usual stuff that annoys me about dystopian films, the perfect make-up of every female character despite their supposed hard times, conveniently timed bullets that only just stop the main characters from death, the inevitable single tear and the all-consuming end all romance that only really gets showcased in a few delicate scenes. 

There just wasn't enough genuine, raw emotion (Even though Tris did ugly cry a fair bit) to make any of the relationships seem real in this film, which is a shame because the exploration into the relationship between the mother and the daughter could have been really interesting if it was explored in less cliche and obviously emotion grabbing ways. 


It also struck me how influenced the scriptwriters must have been by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Harry decides to surrender himself in order to save his friends. 
 Like, if you died Tris' hair black and Four's red you would have a re-enactment so accurate Warner Bros would be calling up about copyright issues within the hour. 

First of all an omnipotent voice is projected to a large gathering of rebel people. This scary voice then proclaims that our protagonist must surrender in order to save their friends and followers. Cue shot to character standing alone looking pensive. 
A single lone perp then speaks up saying something along the lines of "why don't we just hand he/her in? Save our villain some trouble?"
Brave boyfriend/girlfriend/close friend who had previously been pissed off but now apparently is all good then interjects with a line similar to "over my dead body".
Cue another long shot of the main character giving a wide eyed look to the crowds before slowly walking away with a mysterious look in their eye. 
Blah blah blah. 
Harry/Tris then sacrifices themselves but miraculously are both reincarnated and everyone lives happily ever after due to Jesus being in their midst. 

Sick. 




So as you can see my point isn't that I didn't like this film but rather that this film just felt like a combination of every other film I've seen lately and *yawn* thats getting pretty old pretty fast. 
Watch Insurgent if you want, but don't be a sucker like me and pay $13.50 for it, I mean we don't even get to see Theo James shirtless?

That calls for an instant refund if you ask me.