Are you ready to diverge from your typical movie choices? Then it is time to take your faction to see Divergent.

Without even reading Veronica Roth’s trilogy, I can tell you without a doubt the film is better than the book. It’s not difficult to understand the concept of people being divided into factions that reflect the qualities of intelligence, bravery, honesty, peacefulness, and selflessness in 140 minutes. If you ask me 487 pages of a book is too much.

Main character Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior, (Shailene Woodley) grows up as Abnegation (selflessness) where vanity is discouraged and selflessness is valued. At 16, teenagers are forced to take a test to determine which faction would be the best fit for them. I can’t imagine that the book would be able to do justice to the intensity that is evident in these scenes in the film. And in the rare and forbidden cases where a person fits in all of the factions, viewers of the film can expect to be moved beyond words on a page at the struggles faced by those then labeled as Divergent.

Teenagers are free to pick whichever faction they wish at the time of the ceremony, but they can not return to their original faction after the choice has been made. The movie showcases Beatrice’s hesitation about making her choice leaving viewers breathless with anticipation.

The first half of the film is an exciting, basic-training thriller where Beatrice, now Tris, wills herself to jump off moving trains and fight with her bare hands. During her training, she meets drill sergeant Four (Theo James) who helps to train her and who teaches her valuable lessons. Despite clearly being an attractive man, viewers can watch Tris and Four’s relationship unfold in ways the novel does not.

While other conflicts continue to mount throughout the film, one issue that takes precedence is when corrupt Erudite (intelligent) faction leader Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) attempts to overtake the factions by acting icy and cruel. What you can see in the film and not necessarily the novel is how Matthews seems to know about Tris the whole time because of her facial expressions and body positions.

The second half of the film is filled with many vicious fight scenes that you can not even begin to imagine with the novel. Seeing it on screen provides viewers with a more substantive and thrilling experience as Tris and Four battle their corrupt government. A pleasant surprise for most viewers will be who saves the day at the end of the film.
Despite having never read the book, I guarantee that this film is an action-packed thriller that will captivate audiences with plot twists, and it will have you begging to watch the sequel.