Review: The Divergent Series: Insurgent

Insurgent, the second installment of The Divergent Series, is a mostly sputtering mess before it coalesces into a propulsive third act. It is a curious film, one that assumes audiences have either seen the first film or read Veronica Roth's popular trilogy, yet spends nearly its entire duration reviewing everything it established in the first film. Generally speaking, second installments tend to be the most enjoyable, free as they are of the burden of exposition and focused only on moving the narrative forward. Insurgent inches along, proving one of the many exceptions to the rule.

The film begins in Amity, where faction leader Johanna (Octavia Spencer) has temporarily taken in our heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley), her boyfriend Four (Theo James), her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), and untrustworthy fellow trainee Peter (Miles Teller, providing the only source of levity in a film that takes itself way too seriously). Tris and Four are fugitives since Erudite leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) deems them responsible for the Abnegation massacre. More importantly, their roles as Divergents make them particularly wanted as the cunning leader believes only a Divergent can unlock a mysterious box that contains a message from the city's founders.

The key to opening the box is to have the strength to endure the five "sims" - virtual reality tests specifically designed to each faction's skill set. Insurgent could have easily been structured to be predominantly comprised of the sim tests as they are a visually arresting way of depicting Tris' emotional turmoil. Director Robert Schwentke, already on board for the next installment Allegiant: Part 1, relaxes during these set pieces, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief that he and his technical crew can concentrate on creating slick and striking visuals instead of a cohesive story.

Indeed, the image of Tris defying the laws of physics as she pursues the burning house containing her mother (Ashley Judd) as it floats above the rubbled cityscape makes a far more convincing case for her guilt than any close-up of Woodley's tear-stained face. Woodley is the best crier of her generation, having inherited the mantle from Claire Danes who inherited it from Laura Dern, and she runs the gamut of tears here: she happy-cries, sad-cries, guilty-cries, mad-cries, and more. The one thing Woodley, as lovely and talented an actress as she is, still fails to do is fully convince as Tris.

A certain level of unease has always accompanied Woodley in this role. Part of it may be due to her affinity for more independent fare. At least the discomfort was excusable in the first film, but it is more difficult to ignore in Insurgent since Tris is no longer struggling with her identity and is fully cognizant of her role in the overall scheme of things. It does not help Woodley to be surrounded by Judd, Winslet, and Naomi Watts (joining the franchise as Evelyn, Four's estranged mother and potentially dangerous leader of the factionless), all of whom possess a combination of grit and vulnerability that would have made any of them an ideal Tris.

The Divergent Series: Insurgent

Directed by: Robert Schwentke

Written by: Brian Duffied, Akiva Goldsman, Mark Bomback; adapted from Veronica Roth's novel

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Jai Courtney, Mekhi Phifer, Octavia Spencer, Zoë Kravitz, Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Daniel Dae Kim, Maggie Q, Suki Waterhouse, Janet McTeer, Ray Stevenson