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The Divergent Series: Allegiant Parent Guide

The high-tech eye candy is cool but it doesn't make up for the lack of plot advancement induced by turning three books into four movies. the themes and violence may be frightening for younger viewers..

Based on the third book in the Divergent series, Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Shailene Woodley) and Tobias "Four" Eaton (Theo James) explore the world on the other side of the fence and uncover a mysterious agency called the Bureau of Genetic Welfare .

Release date March 18, 2016

Run Time: 120 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

If you’re like me, it seems there are far too many dystopian book and film franchises aimed at adolescents. Sitting through yet another chapter of the Divergent Series , I yearn for a happy moment, a productive breakthrough or even a little patch of green grass. Fortunately this third instalment in the movie series, Allegiant , does offer the latter, but it definitely is little.

Our determined gang of Divergents continue their fight to fix Chicago, a dystopian mess of demolished buildings overrun by warring factions. (Make sure you take a look at the previous two movies or novels to catch up on the backstory.) They received a message in the previous episode that claimed the answers to their problems lay on the other side of the wall that surrounds their city. Now leader Tris (Shailene Woodley), along with her boyfriend and right-hand beefcake Four (Theo James), her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), the difficult-to-trust Peter (Miles Teller) and hard-core adventurer Christina (Zoe Kravitz) make a run for the barrier. In hot pursuit are soldiers following the commands of Evelyn (Naomi Watts) the crumbling metropolis’s new, self-appointed leader.

The Divergents proved to be the cream of the crop and, no surprise, Tris is the creamiest. Her status as the only human to evolve from impure to pure, gets her a pass to ride the glass elevator to the penthouse suite where she meets David (Jeff Daniels), the guy who’s in charge of the experiment. Compared to the military style barracks everyone else is housed in, David’s luxurious living quarters are a not-so-subtle clue he’s not as nice as he first appears.

Torn apart by issues of trust and dealing with mounting aggression from earlier confrontations, the characters in Allegiant stumble toward an awkward mid-novel intermission (yet another final book stretched into two movies— Ascendant is scheduled for release in June 2017). The battling factions are core to the story, which features weapons use, stabbings and hand-to-hand combat with blood effects, although the visuals stop short of becoming explicit. However the themes and subtext may be more frightening for young audiences. Intense sequences depict mass extermination of a populace and the forced separation of parents and children. In the latter a father is shot after refusing to surrender custody of his child and others are seen being herded under gunfire. An earlier scene depicts an execution – we see the gun held to the convicted character’s head but the view cuts away as the shot is fired. Fortunately, the script contains only a smattering of mild profanities.

Trying to turn three books into four movies is likely the biggest reason why this instalment feels so tedious. Most of the screen time depicts characters learning to pilot fabulous flying machines, mastering the use of mini-drones for fighting purposes or keeping a remote eye on the happenings in Chicago through an array of virtual reality cameras that would give George Orwell nightmares. All the high tech eye candy is cool, but it doesn’t make up for the lack of plot advancement.

Finally, parents would do well to consider the negative outlook this series projects to its intended young audience. The future is bleak. People over 40 aren’t to be trusted. Governments are inept. Even technology takes a beating in this film as virtually every modern invention (some of which are impressive considering they must have been cooked up out of what was left in the rubble) is utilized for the purpose of invading privacy or killing. Perhaps the only take away after watching Allegiant is a reminder to teens about the importance of wisely exercising one’s civic responsibilities.

About author

Rod Gustafson

The divergent series: allegiant rating & content info.

Why is The Divergent Series: Allegiant rated PG-13? The Divergent Series: Allegiant is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense violence and action, thematic elements, and some partial nudity.

Violence: Violent depictions are pervasive in this movie, which features detailed hand-to-hand combat, gunfights and knife use. Also depicted are explosions, electrical shock, vehicle crashes and kidnapping. Characters are injured and killed (some blood is shown) during these confrontations. Characters are executed—a gun is held to their head, the sound of a shot is heard, and their body is shown falling to the floor. Injections and poisonous gas are used to gain power over enemies. Mobs are incited to violence. Corpses are shown. Children are kidnapped and their parents are sometimes killed. Characters mock and belittle others. Characters lie and betray the trust of others.

Sexual Content: Characters embrace and kiss each other. A woman removes her clothing to shower: She is seen naked from the neck and shoulders up, as well as from the back in silhouette.

Language: The script includes infrequent uses of mild profanity and scatological slang.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters are subjected to poisonous gas and truth serum injections.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

The Divergent Series: Allegiant Parents' Guide

The society depicted in the movie uses “factions” to categorize people. What are the pros and cons of emphasizing the differences between members of a community? What happens to the residents of Chicago when those lines are pulled down?Why do some of the leaders want to create a new, but similar system? Can you see example of labeling in the society in which you live? Do you think these titles are helpful or hurtful?

Tris wants to see what is beyond the fence—even though there is no guarantee she will find anything better out there. Why do “far away pastures” usually seem greener? Why is curiosity such an irresistible temptation? What are the consequences for her and her friends for exploring that forbidden territory? Is the knowledge they gain worth the price they pay? Why or why not?

The most recent home video release of The Divergent Series: Allegiant movie is July 12, 2016. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: The Divergent Series: Allegiant Release Date: 12 July 2016 The Divergent Series: Allegiant releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) with the following special features: - Audio Commentary with Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher - Six Featurettes

Related home video titles:

This movie is the sequel to Divergent and The Divergent Series: Insurgent . It will be followed up by The Divergent Series: Ascendant (formerly called The Divergent Series: Allegiant- Part 2).

Related news about The Divergent Series: Allegiant

Change of Venue for The Divergent Series: Ascendant

{parents:pull_quote}

"Selfless Bravery Overcomes Tyrannical Conformism"

What You Need To Know:

(BBB, C, Ro, ACAC, L, VV, S, N, M) Very strong moral worldview with some Christian, redemptive content where selflessness, bravery, kindness, knowledge, and truth are promoted as virtues that should be pursued and love through sacrifice is shown, mixed with some false romantic elements and strong anti-statist content where tyrannical antagonist tries to control and manipulate the minds of people through the media and technology; four light obscenities and five light profanities, a few scatological comments about a co-ed bathroom; some light to moderate action violence, teenagers cut hands in a choosing ceremony, hand-to-hand combat training with youth strongly punching and kicking each other, main characters are forced to shoot mind-controlled soldiers in self defense, many people are shot and die off-screen, crows violently attack main character in a simulated nightmare sequence, it’s implied that man was beat by his father when he was young, knife is thrown through a hand, and one character commits suicide off screen; a passionate kiss between two characters, and heroine overcomes her fear of being intimate with her boyfriend in a simulated dream sequence by kicking him off herself when he aggressively comes onto her; upper male nudity and brief shot of a teenage girl in a bra from a distance; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, main character refuses to forgive someone at one point, but is grieved by it later.

More Detail:

DIVERGENT is a thrilling, compelling adaptation of the Young Adult science fiction novel by New York Times bestseller Veronica Roth.

DIVERGENT is set in a dystopian, futuristic Chicago after the world falls apart. To maintain peace in the city, a wall is built around Chicago, and the people are divided into different factions based on five virtues: selflessness, peace, honesty, bravery, and knowledge. Every person at a certain age must find out which is the appropriate faction for them. They can either stay with their family in their own faction, or leave and possibly never see their family again.

Beatrice belongs to the faction Abnegation (selflessness) with her brother Caleb and her parents. Caleb and her have reached the age where they must find out their own faction. All the youths their age must take a test that will tell them where they belong. The next day, a ceremony will be held where they must decide if they will stay at home or leave.

As is Abnegation way, Beatrice grew up in a selfless environment. Wearing plain clothes and eating tasteless food, Abnegation was set up to run the government because of their selfless virtues. Beatrice, no matter how much she tried, could never fit in with her family’s own faction. Instead, she admired the Dauntless (bravery) faction, the city’s warriors and protectors who live their lives fearlessly. The question is, is that a life she could live?

When Beatrice takes the test that will tell her who she is, she’s told that the test was inconclusive. She’s told she’s a Divergent, someone who doesn’t fit into one faction. Such people are a threat to the established order and the way things are done. Beatrice is told to tell no one of these results, or else she’ll be killed.

Troubled by her results, at the ceremony Beatrice makes a decision that will change everything. She decides to become a Dauntless. Immediately separated from her family, Beatrice, who changes her name to Tris, must go through a competitive training course, while hiding her true identity as a Divergent. A complicated romance develops between Tris and her Dauntless trainer, a guy named Four, and a conspiracy begins to unravel when one faction plans to take over the rest.

DIVERGENT takes typical young adult fiction clichés and sets them in a fascinating, compelling world. Labeled as another HUNGER GAMES type because of its strong female protagonist, DIVERGENT is similar, yet still quite different. Staying true to the book’s quality, the movie, though long, instantly brings viewers into the story’s immersive world. The pacing is strong at the beginning, but similar to the book, it loses some focus in the middle. Thankfully, this lack of focus won’t lose viewers to boredom. Consequently, DIVERGENT is thoroughly entertaining and engaging. Grounded in realism, the movie makes use of real Chicago landmarks that help give the movie authenticity. Women are the target audience, although many men may enjoy it too. Even so, the teenage romance elements may garner some groans.

DIVERGENT has a very strong moral worldview with some Christian, redemptive qualities, mixed with some Romanticism. The book, written by a Christian, carries these themes more overtly, but the movie still conveys them strongly. The tyrannical, statist government trying to convey an image of peace through submissive moral conformism is seen as evil. The movie asks, What is bravery (the Dauntless faction) without selflessness (the Abnegation faction), or truth (the Candor faction) without kindness (the Amity faction)? The movie clearly shows that embracing one virtue doesn’t negate one’s pursuit or growth in other virtues. It also shows that knowledge (the Erudite faction) and power without truth, peace, and selflessness lead to corruption. These are just a few of the many themes and applications engrained in the movie’s premise. DIVERGENT also has a powerful dynamic between a family that loves each other and is willing to die for one another.

Halfway through, however, the movie takes a romantic detour. Instead of letting the plot drive the romance through conflict and sacrificial love, the romance is developed through stolen glances and sexual tension. Thankfully, the relationship doesn’t technically move beyond a kiss, but it instills a false, superficial view of love. One odd and awkward scene involves a moment when Tris must face all her fears inside a simulated dream sequence. One of those fears is being intimate with her new romantic interest, Four. In the nightmare scenario, he tries to force himself onto her. Positively, instead of embracing the idea of being intimate with him, she conquers her fear by kicking him off her. The scene is purposefully awkward, but provides an important lesson to teenage girls. Hopefully, this message is backed up in further sequels as the romantic relationship builds.

DIVERGENT has some foul language, moderate violence, and some sensuality that requires caution. Otherwise, it’s encouraging to see young adult fiction portray a moral worldview in such a highly entertaining fashion.

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Short takes

Not recommended under 14; parental guidance to 14 (themes and violence)

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Divergent
• a review of Divergent completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 15 April 2014 .

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie.

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Divergent is a science fiction action film set in the dystopian Chicago of a future time. Society has been divided into five factions based on personality testing run by the government: Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (truthful), Erudite (intelligent) and Dauntless (brave). The film follows the story of Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley), a girl with a family heritage from Abnegation. After undergoing the personality testing, it is discovered that she does not fall clearly within any of the five categories – she is a ‘Divergent’, and is told that she will be hunted and killed if anyone discovers this. At the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice elects to go against her family heritage and be a part of the Dauntless faction.  

Changing her name to ‘Tris’, she struggles initially, but soon becomes one of the most fearless members of the faction. She quickly gains the respect of her instructor, Tobias (Theo James), and the two later develop a more intimate relationship. During the training, initiates are put through a range of physical tests in addition to psychological ones. When the psychological testing reveals that Tris is unlike the other initiates, Tobias encourages her to practice in an effort to conceal her powers as a Divergent. However, when the Erudites drug the Dauntless soldiers and it is only Tobias and Tris who remain unaffected, the two are forced to abandon the secrecy which had protected them, standing up against a powerful faction and its leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet).

Themes info

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Family loyalty versus patriotic duty; betrayal and trust; identity; totalitarian states

Use of violence info

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is considerable violence in the film, including hand to hand fighting with knives and gun fights. Examples include:

• The initiates often fight each other when they are training. They are given weapons that simulate the sensation of being shot with a gun, and are required to shoot each other.
• Tris is grabbed by three masked men when she returns to Dauntless one night. They hold her while she struggles, and try to throw her off the side of a cliff. She is saved by Tobias.
• One of the other initiates kills himself because of guilt. He was likely to be cut from Dauntless, and tried to kill Tris in order to boost his position on the leader board. We see his body being pulled up after he has hung himself. 
• When Abnegation is under attack from the Dauntless soldiers (under the influence of mind control), many Abnegation citizens are shot and killed. Dead bodies can be seen on the floor, with blood on them.
• Tris is shot in the final battle with the Dauntless soldiers. Her mother and father are also both shot and killed.
• Tris is forced to kill one of the initiates she trained with, as he is under the influence of mind control and is trying to shoot her.
• When Tris is facing her fears within the simulations, Tobias aggressively tries to have sex with her. He pushes her down on the bed, but she kicks him in the groin and punches him in the face to throw him off.
• Tris throws a knife through Jeanine’s hand, pinning her to a board.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under five info.

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

Most of the film would be scary for this age group.

Aged five to eight info

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes , there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged under five to eight, including the following:

• Tris loses both of her parents during the final battle – her mother and father are both shot trying to save and protect her. When her mother dies, Tris is very distressed and breaks down. By the time her father dies, she has taken on more of a soldier mentality and just continues with the mission and what needs to be done. 

Aged eight to thirteen info

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the scenes involving the death of Tris’ parents and also:

• It is implied that Tobias was physically abused by his father when he was younger. During Tobias’ induced nightmares, we see his father standing before him holding a belt and talking about it being in the best interests of Tobias.

Thirteen and over info

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Younger children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above-mentioned scenes.

Product placement

None of concern

Sexual references

Nudity and sexual activity.

There is some partial nudity and sexual activity in the film, including:

• After joining Dauntless, Tris is required to get changed in a room with both men and women – she takes off her shirt and is seen in her bra and pants.
• Tobias removes his shirt in order to show Tris his tattoo.
• Passionate kissing

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in the film, including:

• In order to be tested psychologically, the initiates are injected with a serum that induces nightmares. They then hallucinate their worst fears.
• All members of Dauntless are injected with a serum that turns them into ‘mindless drones’ by making them more susceptible to suggestion – they are then used as weapons against the other factors.

Coarse language

There is some use of coarse language in the film, including the terms:

• ‘bitch’, ‘asshole’ and exclamations involving ‘God’

In a nutshell

Divergent is a science fiction action fantasy that centres on the concept of identity, and how individuals build their own unique identities against the pre-existing influences of family, relationships and their responsibilities to society. It is the first screen adaptation of author Veronica Roth's best-selling dystopian trilogy which many teens and some tweens may have read. The film begins with Tris having very little idea as to who she is as a person, and what she is capable of. The trials she goes through during the training within Dauntless enable her to discover that she is far braver and stronger than she could have ever imagined. The main message is that it is possible to achieve anything with enough determination and strength of character.

The film features frequent violence, is tense and scary and has themes that younger children may find difficult to understand. It is therefore not recommended for under 15s.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with older children include:

• Respecting your family and standing by them, even in instances where they elect to make different choices.
• Pushing yourself to be more than you – and others – think you capable of being.
• Taking risks is crucial in regards to personal development and being able to live a full life without fear.

 This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss:

• The nature and dangers of totalitarian states, and the importance of not having centralised power in the hands of individuals who may abuse it.
• The treatment of minority groups within a society that is fearful of them.
• The issue of individual compliance versus independence.

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• DVD & Streaming

The Divergent Series: Allegiant

• Action/Adventure , Drama , Romance , Sci-Fi/Fantasy , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• March 18, 2016
• Shailene Woodley as Tris; Theo James as Four; Naomi Watts as Evelyn; Octavia Spencer as Johanna; Jeff Daniels as David; Zoë Kravitz as Christina; Ansel Elgort as Caleb; Miles Teller as Peter

Home Release Date

• July 12, 2016
• Robert Schwentke

Distributor

Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

In the last Divergent movie, Insurgent , the brave heroine Tris cracked open a box and learned that her life—and the lives of everyone else in the walled-off city of Chicago—were part of a weird, grand experiment. The mysterious message in that mysterious box invited everyone to leave the walls behind and re-enter the big, broad world outside.

Yeah, about that. Not gonna happen. Not if Evelyn has her way.

Evelyn has taken charge after the city’s strange faction system (wherein residents were split into tribal groups via, essentially, Myers-Briggs personality tests) finally crumbled. And while she sure didn’t like living under someone’s thumb before, now that she’s the thumb it’s not so bad. And, frankly, she’d like to keep everyone right where they are—in Chicago. After all, there’s no telling what might really be out there! Mutant dinosaurs, maybe, or laser-toting werewolves. The point is that it could be dangerous. So to keep everyone safe, Evelyn may have to kill people to keep them from leaving.

Naturally, Tris—who has yet to find an authority figure she’ll listen to—wants to break out. (One of these movies should really be called Insolent ). Her perpetually angry lover Four, of course, still has her back, along with her good friends Christina and Tori. Slimy frienemy Peter has somehow squirreled his way into her clique of personality, too, and Four breaks Tris’ backstabbing brother, Caleb, out of prison just in time for the breach-the-wall festivities. (Good timing, that; the guy was about to go on trial, and Evelyn’s trials always seem to end with a bullet to the head.)

After much walking (and a disappointing lack of mutant dinosaurs), Tris and Co. come across a futuristic city, full of folks who’ve been watching Tris all her life, Truman Show -style. (Remember: She’s a science experiment.) Now that Tris found their message and stopped by for a visit, the experiment is over—or so Tris would hope. These futuristic saviors will swoop into Chicago, rein in Evelyn and make everything better. Right?

Yeah, about that.

Positive Elements

Tris (real name: Beatrice, like the messenger of salvation in Dante’s Divine Comedy ) means well. While reluctant to take on a leadership role in war-torn Chicago, she sincerely wants to help these folks. And when she comes across the colony of futuristic survivors, she’s inclined to trust them, hoping her trust can lead to salvation not just for her, but everyone back home.

But when it becomes clear that such faith in her fellow man has been misplaced, Tris works equally hard to counteract the aftereffects, trying to save not only her friends, but the entire city of Chicago from a terrible fate.

Even though they spend way too much time kissing at inappropriate moments, Tris and Four clearly care about each other’s well-being. And despite her brother’s betrayal just one movie ago, Tris still saves Caleb from the angry masses. “It’s what you do for family,” she explains. Later, Caleb has a chance to return the favor.

Spiritual Elements

Before injecting truth serum into a man standing trial, the interrogator says, “May the truth set you free” (evoking John 8:32). David, the guy who runs the futuristic outpost, calls Tris a “miracle.”

Sexual & Romantic Content

When Tris and her cohorts arrive at the futuristic city, they’re forced to take showers (to wash radiation and mutant dino dust off their bodies). To comply, Tris takes off her shirt (we see her bare back) and then her pants. (Her naked body is silhouetted.) Women’s tops are sometimes low-cut. As mentioned, Tris and Four frequently kiss and clutch.

Violent Content

Four makes Rambo look like a well-adjusted accountant here, knocking out or outright killing dozens of people when the mood strikes. He and others engage in a host of hand-to-hand battles, sometimes ending with a knife to the gut or neck. (The fights are frenetic and jarring, but rarely bloody.) Regular gunfights push the casualty count even higher.

Evelyn is in the process of trying those who were part of the previous regime’s reign of terror. Suspects are injected with truth serum (via a long needle), which forces them to be painfully honest. One such perp says he doesn’t feel bad about the indiscriminate killing he did in service to Jeanine: “People are sheep,” he says, “and when they resist, we slaughter them.” He’s shot in the back of the head (offscreen) as the crowd cheers. And we see another such execution take place as well. Verdicts seem to be determined by the hooting and hollering legion of onlookers, giving the whole atmosphere a bloodthirsty, gladiatorial feel.

Explosions rock tank-like vehicles, sending one tumbling (and injuring/burning the driver pretty badly). Children are yanked away from their parents by raiders. A flying ship careens and crashes into the ground. People are knocked out by tiny drones. A boy hits a drone with a rock.

It’s worth noting that radiation has turned the soil and water red. “Great, now the sky’s bleeding,” Peter says when it begins to rain. And as a result of this anomaly, a number of people periodically look as if they’re covered with diluted blood.

Crude or Profane Language

Four or five s-words. We also hear scattered interjections of “a–” (once), “d–n” (once) and “h—” (three or four times), along with two or three misuses of God’s name and one use of “gadzooks.”

Drug & Alcohol Content

I’ve mentioned the truth serum already. And a vaporous gas has the ability to wipe away memories.

Other Noteworthy Elements

Several people lie for their own ends.

Allegiant , the third movie in The Divergent Series , is not too terrible when it comes to problematic content. In fact, it’s actually a tad tidier than its two predecessors—a Hollywood rarity.

While Tris and Four frequently smooch and make googly eyes at each other, their sexual shenanigans aren’t even hinted at (unlike in Insurgent ). Also absent is the sheer terror of the tests Tris goes through in the first film, and the brutal virtual torture she endures in the second. Fists and knives and bullets aplenty do still fly, often finding their marks. But compared to the virtual-reality misery of the first two flicks, these “real-world” fights and deaths feel, by comparison, of little emotional consequence.

But therein lies the problem, too. While this movie is marginally cleaner than its predecessors in terms of content, it’s unquestionably worse in terms of story.

Some of that is perhaps the result of the “Hobbitization” of the film. The folks at Lionsgate opted to stretch one book—in this case, Veronica Roth’s Allegiant —into two movies. And that opens the door to what I’ll call the cheap fast-food taco syndrome: too much filler and not enough meat.

Then there’s the lack of common sense we see here. Take a critical scene in which Tris storms past David, a super-elite scientist who rules over his own tiny kingdom with an iron fist. “I’m taking your ship, and I’m not coming back,” she says. David merely watches her walk past while saying in a tone of exasperation, “You can’t fly.” This seems a strange response, given the circumstances. If my daughter stormed past me, car keys in hand, saying she was going to steal my car and not come back, I think I’d do a bit more than just say, “You can’t drive a stick.”

It’s a shame. Divergent ostensibly wants its viewers to use its dystopian construct as a channel toward considering their own personalities, celebrating the differences in one another and, perhaps most importantly, weighing the stubborn power of love, mercy and sacrifice (symbolized by the Abnegation faction).

But what we’re actually left with is a jumbled collection of heavyweight special effects and flyweight characters carrying out a sci-fi war that seems more about showing off Four’s fantastic nunchuck skills and Tris’ defiant charm than making any kind of meaningful philosophic or spiritual stand.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Divergent: film review.

Shailene Woodley and Theo James topline the first of three features based on novelist Veronica Roth’s postapocalyptic trilogy.

By Sheri Linden

Sheri Linden

Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic

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Dystopia is no picnic for most everyone involved, but in the future world of Divergent , it’s especially hard on teens. At the heart of Veronica Roth ’s YA bestseller is a provocative existential dilemma involving adolescence and identity: At age 16, everyone must choose which of society’s stringently defined factions they’ll join. That could mean staying on home turf or leaving family far behind, and it’s an irreversible decision. In an era when you’re never too young to not just choose a career but to launch one, it’s an idea with particular resonance.

It’s also an idea that loses much of its potency in the movie adaptation, as director Neil Burger struggles to fuse philosophy, awkward romance and brutal action. Even with star Shailene Woodley delivering the requisite toughness and magnetism, the clunky result is almost unrelentingly grim. Dystopia can be presented in dynamic ways, but this iteration of it is, above all, no picnic for the audience.

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THR COVER: Is ‘Divergent’ Star Shailene Woodley the Next Jennifer Lawrence?

Lukewarm reviews might squelch curiosity among those unfamiliar with the trilogy of books, but the must-see factor among fans will ensure a robust opening for Summit, which has two sequels in the works and the next installment, Insurgent , fast-tracked for early-2015 release.

Like most social science fiction, the story, set in a war-ravaged Chicago in an unspecified future, is propelled by the friction between freethinkers and an authoritarian regime. Protagonist Beatrice Prior (Woodley) faces particular jeopardy because she’s a rare and dangerous bird: a so-called Divergent, who doesn’t fit neatly into one of the prescribed categories that control every aspect of life.

Like the source material, the film begins on the eve of the Choosing Ceremony, as 16-year-old Beatrice submits to the aptitude test — a personality quiz via drug-induced hallucination — that will tell her which faction suits her best. The inconclusive results alarm her tester (a well-cast Maggie Q ), who warns her never to tell a soul that she’s Divergent. Being uncategorizable makes Beatrice a threat to the social order.

Perhaps reaching too quickly for the epic, the screen adaptation, credited to Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor , skimps on setting up the Prior family dynamics, lessening the emotional impact of the ceremony in which both Beatrice and her brother, Caleb ( Ansel Elgort ), opt to transfer out of Abnegation, the faction of the selfless. Beatrice has never felt as naturally charitable as her parents ( Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn ), and her face lights up whenever she sees the Dauntless, the brave ones who snarl and rollick like a bunch of punk rockers; they’re as boisterous and defiant as the members of Abnegation are low-key and self-effacing.

PHOTOS: Shailene Woodley’s Career in Pictures

Beatrice’s first moments with her new tribe bear out the sense of thrills and danger she observed from a distance. Jumping from a moving train — the Dauntless way of arriving, and one of the film’s best sequences — she gets to experience the kinetic physicality long denied her. (The rusted-out but still functioning elevated trains are a standout component of Andy Nicholson ’s production design.)

But soon after Beatrice joins the Dauntless, and redubs herself Tris, she finds that train jumping, building scaling and other wild behavior isn’t the choice of free spirits but the requirement of soldiers in training. The subterranean Pit that serves as Dauntless HQ is a bleak place, devoid of humor or brightness — as is the movie.

Tris’ martial indoctrination takes up much of the first hour, putting her in a number of punishing mano-a-mano bouts with other initiates. Those who don’t prove their mettle will end up among the “factionless,” outcasts subsisting on the streets of a city where you can never go home again.

Instructor Four (a commanding Theo James , of Underworld: Awakening ) takes an interest in Tris and her survival, mitigating the merciless demands of leader Eric ( Jai Courtney ). Predictably, things steam up: Four shows Tris his tattoo and, in an act of real intimacy, invites her into his chemically produced nightmare, the better to prepare her for the final hurdle in her training: a fear test that’s an obvious variation on Room 101 in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four .

PHOTOS: Exclusive Portraits of Shailene Woodley

In small roles, some of which will probably take on greater weight in the next film, Mekhi Phifer and Ray Stevenson play faction leaders, and Zoe Kravitz and Miles Teller are two initiates from Candor (faction of the truth tellers).

Kate Winslet  shows up in icy-blonde mode as Jeanine, a ferocious proponent of the brave new world’s social engineering and leader of the Erudite, the brainy faction that’s waging a campaign to discredit the ruling Abnegation. (The peaceful Amity faction barely registers in the film.) A conversation between Jeanine and Tris offers a few moments of refreshingly sublimated hostility. Otherwise, such high-wire tension is MIA as nearly every exchange hits the nail squarely on the head (echoing the plain prose of the book).

Carlo Poggioli  brings a utilitarian expressiveness to the color-coded faction outfits, while Nicholson’s sets excel at industrial grunge; Chicago’s Navy Pier and its Ferris wheel make for a vivid abandoned amusement park. In general, though, the postwar cityscape feels generic, captured in straightforward widescreen images by cinematographer Alwin Kuchler , who created a far more affecting sense of dystopian malaise in the underappreciated Code 46 .

The score by Junkie XL ( Hans Zimmer is credited as executive score producer) is rousing when appropriate and mostly unobtrusive, unlike the tone-deaf use of indie-pop and techno tracks at key points in the action ( Randall Poster is the music supervisor).

Woodley, a sensitive performer, is hamstrung by the screenplay but lends her role relatability and a convincing athleticism. Burger and Kuchler’s unfortunate preference for mascara-ad close-ups, however, detracts from the character’s grit.

In the hands of Burger, whose credits include The Illusionist and Limitless , the story’s elements of spectacle, decay, symbolism and struggle only rarely feel fully alive. Lackluster direction in the early installments of other YA franchises hasn’t slowed their momentum, though. Divergent will be no exception.

Opens: Friday, March 21 (Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment) Production: Red Wagon Entertainment Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Kate Winslet Director: Neil Burger Screenwriters: Evan Daugherty, Vanessa Taylor Based on the novel by Veronica Roth Producers: Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Pouya Shahbazian Executive producers: John J. Kelly, Rachel Shane Director of photography: Alwin Kuchler Production designer: Andy Nicholson Music: Junkie XL Executive score producer: Hans Zimmer Co-producer: Veronica Roth Costume designer: Carlo Poggioli Editors: Richard Francis-Bruce, Nancy Richardson PG-13; 139 minutes

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