The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015)

** ½ out of ****

Having seen this over a week ago now, I am still not completely sure what to think about it. The critics are ripping it, the audiences are staying away in droves, and it seems that it is being virtually written off.

But I think I liked it......

“Insurgent” picks up right where “Divergent” (2014) left off, with Tris (Shealine Woodley), her Brother Caleb and Four and a couple of others on the run after the massacre in the Abnegation sector, which has been pinned on them. All of the remaining authorities are hunting them, though many citizens understand that things aren't exactly as they're being told in the media.

Meanwhile Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is still running the overall show, and has come into some kind of magic box with a secret message inside from the “founders”. It takes a divergent individual to open it, but she has been unable to find a strong enough one yet to get the job done. All of the divergents she's tried so far have died, and she realizes it will take a very special one. Guess who the lucky girl is going to be?

Basically the film takes the long way around the barn. When it's over we haven't really learned a lot about anything, except that the entire society was a trial and there is a bigger world outside. Very little is ultimately resolved (which is to be expected, as there are more sequels to come). Critics have derided it as a ripoff of “The Hunger Games” series, and with the revolutionary themes, the “chosen one” and the uniting battle of different factions against the powers-that-be, there are definite similarities. But of course, there are many other similarities.....

There were times while watching it was thinking “this was ripped off directly from “The Matrix””. Other times I saw they had stolen ideas from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. In fact, the STTNG ripoffs, while less obvious, were considerably more far-reaching. But that being said, I didn't really find any of these things to be negative – they simply contributed to the action and story.

Woodley is a talented girl and she carries the film. And it IS carried. At no time during the movie did I look at my watch which is, to me, a good barometer of how much I enjoyed it. The special effects are fabulous, heavy on CGI but utterly seamless. While this film wasn't nearly as compelling as its predecessor (which was a true surprise – “Divergent” was far better than it had any right to be), neither is it a weak follow-up. “Matrix Reloaded” was a mega hit with good reviews, but it sucked compared to the original. This one holds its own.

I think it's getting a bad rap from the critical community because nobody expected the first one to be good, and it was. So everyone expected this one to be as good, and it's not. But it's still a solid effort in my opinion, and makes me want to see where it's going next. Don't let the negative hype bother you – it is worth seeing.