The film Divergent (based on the novel by Veronica Roth) is an exhilarating action-adventure movie that takes place in a world where people are divided into 5 factions based on their personality. Tris Prior (the main character) is told after she takes her aptitude test, (which tells you which faction you belong in) that she is “Divergent”, meaning she can not be controlled; she does not fit into a faction. Tris then discovers that the leader of one of the Factions is trying to destroy all Divergents. Tris must confide in her mentor, the mysterious Four. Together, they must find out why being Divergent is so dangerous and stop the ones trying to kill them before it is too late.

While bringing the movie together Director Neil Burger, author Veronica Roth, and screenwriters Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor included key moments and images from the book, but nevertheless the movie was very different from the book. It was thrilling yet emotional at the same time. The film could very well be satisfying to many fans of the book. However people who have not read the book may dismiss the movie as unoriginal and inferior. The storyline of this movie is so similar to other series like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, that without reading the book one may think the film itself is unoriginal; however, performances by Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet make the movie eminently engaging.

The first part of the film explains all the history of the factions and the characters. It was almost as if Burger was trying to cram as much history in for the people who haven’t read the book that he forgot to build up interesting characters. The middle of the film is where the real action takes place, and that is where it takes a sharp turn from “eh” to “amazing.” The film provoked a lot of questions like “What faction would you fit in?” and “Where do I belong?” It was filled with action, drama, and adventure. If you have not seen it then you definitely should. I actually loved the film so much that I saw it two times. I loved learning new information about the characters in the beginning that I wouldn’t have known just by reading the book. But it turns out it was pleasantly different.