Movie Review - Allegiant

Allegiant

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Jeff Daniels, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Daniel Dae Kim, Maggie Q, and many, many more.

Directed by: Robert Schwentke Screenplay by: Noah Oppenheim, Adam Cooper, and Bill Collage Based on the novels by: Veronica Roth  Cinematography by: Florian Ballhaus Music by: Joseph Trapanese

Premise: Though Chicago has been freed from the tyranny of Jeanine's rule, all is not well. Johanna asks Tris to step in as a leader, but Tris has other things on her mind. She desperately wants to follow the message which played after the box was opened and go outside the wall. But it won't be easy - not when Evelyn has decided no one gets to go outside the wall. Tris will find a way. And when she does, matters beyond the wall won't be quite what she expects. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Shailene Woodley and Theo James bring forth good performances as their characters continue to evolve in this third installment of the Divergent Series. Jeff Daniels is smooth and deceptive as David. Ansel Elgort gets to show more of what he's made of as Caleb starts seeing the truth of things.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects department truly outdid themselves on this one. Awesome little touches that took some of the effects to a new level. 

First was the awesome work on the wasteland just outside the city. The color variations, the maze of half exposed warrens, the red rain falling from the sky; all making a truly unique tableau for the characters. The neat half leaning spires with rings (they looked super cool though we never do find out what they are!). The whole effect on the tainted area was rad.

Second was the creation sequence of the Tris' mother's memory area when Tris is submerged into it. The way things came together like falling strings and draping tarps looked fantastic. The destruction sequence of memories later on was pretty darn cool as well.

Third were the lovely Bureau of Genetics spires and later the city of Provenance. Some truly lovely work. The decontamination sequence was also really cool.

And they had so many awesome gadgets! The three disks, the wall of globes, the Director's ship - lots of new gear to love! :) And the visuals for the immersion of those using the spy globes was totally cool.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: I wasn't so sure I wanted to see this film, but since I'd seen the other two, we took the plunge. I'm glad I did, as the special effects were superb. The story didn't have as many issues as the previous films (if you don't look too hard), which helped a bit. And they actually tried to get the audience up to speed at the beginning - not just drop us off in the middle of the Ocean as they did for "Insurgent". 

They did hold up figurative signs screaming of what was about to happen next a time or two. This tendency Hollywood has to have huge pauses right before they kill someone off is a trend I do not understand. The deaths aren't surprising if you stretch and stretch the moment as you figuratively jump up and down so we know it's coming. If you shine such a bright light on it - we won't be surprised! Just disgusted. Duh. 

A ton of questions are not answered. David speaks of how everyone must make sacrifices, as he points out the cramped quarters of the non-pure, but they never actually say why he needs all these people! (Or why a man who looks twenty, is in memories from 40 years before and looks the same, while David actually aged. For a while, I thought they might be using genetic material for clones, but nothing ever came up to explain the weirdness.) 

I did like how they dressed Tris differently from the others once they were at the Bureau. Not only did it separate them by class, but it also made Tris start to resemble Jeanine.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The film has a number of fights, explosions, and more. Some nice Four hand-to-hand combat. And the entire wall escape sequence looked great!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: At the beginning of the film they do a gorgeous, slow sweep of Chicago to remind the audience of the devastation of old and the true state of the city as new scars now plague it's face. With the playing of the recording from the holographic projectors on several of the buildings, it made a great backdrop for giving the audience a quick reminder of what's been going on. Kudos! 

As I stated in the special effects section - the regions outside the wall were awesome! We get some super cool overhead shots of the pockmarked surface and the weird discolorations of the ground and the stagnant pools and red creeks. Truly brought home the fact the Earth has seem some super bad times in the past.

All the view shots for the Bureau and Provenance showed both places beautifully. The central building of the Bureau is utterly fascinating!

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: Like I mentioned earlier, they did some nice subtle things with Tris' clothes for some nice subtext. They also did fabulous work on coloring the characters' hair and skin from the red rain. 

The burn marks imprinted on one of the side character's face and neck were lovely. And the scars on Johanna were also well done. What I did not see, though, were deformities or sores or other issues on the faces of the people living in the fringes. Since that whole area is toxic, I would have expected more visible damage on the people living there - but they all actually looked rather healthy. :P

Conclusion: "Allegiant" makes up for a lot with the fabulous special effects and inventiveness brought to the third film in the series. Don't look too closely at the plot, and you should have a nice viewing experience. :)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Insurgent

Insurgent

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Mekhi Phifer, Ansel Elgort, Daniel Dae Kim, Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Zoë Kravitz, Cynthia Barrett, Ashley Judd, and more.

Directed by: Robert Schwentke Screenplay by: Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman, and Mark Bomback Based on the Novel by: Veronica Roth

Premise: Having escaped Jeanine after foiling her plans, Tris finds her inner self conflicted with all that's happened, especially the loss of her mom. And a new wrinkle presents itself, Jeanine found a vessel that contains a message from the Founders, but only a Divergent can pass the tests necessary to open it. And she very badly wants it opened - as she believes it will give her a way to get rid of all Divergents once and for all. So she's more than willing to break even more rules than before to reach her goals. (Rated Pg-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Shailene Woodley did well as the unbalanced Tris. She and Theo James oozed chemistry throughout the film. Miles Teller was fun as bad boy Peter. Kate Winslet was cold as ice as Jeanine. Naomi Watts as Evelyn was rather interesting. Very hard to tell what side she's truly on.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The cool effects start with the credits. The Summit Entertainment and Red Wagon Logos looked amazing as they introduced them in the 3D and morphed them into Jeanine's image. The visuals were very good - like late in the film, when the city is coming totally apart during two of the sims.

There's one scene with Four where the image falls slowly apart that made for a great visual. Also the weird nano spider things looked very cool.

3) Story - Neutral: Sadly, the film makers forgot some basic rules: a) Not everyone has read the books b) Not everyone will have seen the first film c) Those who did see it, have probably forgotten a lot of details by now.

So instead of doing a quick recap of events, the audience is thrown into things with nothing to guide them. While it's easy enough to remember the main characters, the details behind Peter and Caleb were not as memorable, so it made it incredibly hard to understand some of what was going on or the feelings being kicked about at the beginning. Very bad move. The excitement that could have been built right off is instead hampered and made twice as hard to light.

As happens in a lot of science fiction movies and some books, they can never seem to find a balance between the science level indicated vs. other tech used. If you can make nano machine spiders that are intelligent enough to try to fight against you taking them out, then why can't you make them good enough to heal your wounded hand? Through the entire film, Jeanine is cradling her bandaged hand. This from a culture with science that can make virtual reality feel real, put living nano technology inside you without any drawbacks, and use other tech to take over your mind. Yet no tech to help your booboo? Right...

There were some definitely good moments -  some snappy zingers cropped up here and there. But they were only moments. The whole concept of the 'secret in a container' seemed out of place and contrived, as I don't believe it was ever mentioned in the first film. The leftover bad guy from the first film had to reach useless heights of depravity just so there would be sufficient reason built to shoot him while he was helpless with his hands tied. Which pretty much overrides the act, making it wrong as well. (Though it will uncannily resemble a later act by his mother...)

The ending was odd as well. The message in the container did not surprise me, but the mass exodus of the population did. They all know there's at least thirty miles of desert out there - we had some awesome shots of it in the first film! - so where do they think they're going without transportation or water?

There are two more films coming out for the series - but the ending of this one, made us think there this was it. Only found out there's two more while doing research at IMDB. Would a tiny hint have hurt? "The Maze Runner" did that much at least.

4) Stunts - Thumbs Up: There are fights in several parts of the film, but most were the usual. The fight on the train was very nice though. Some explosions and decent stunt work, but again nothing overtly unusual.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Somewhat outdone by the sims, there were still some great shots of the real city. The collapsed areas and people having to traverse them by foot were definitely impressive. The dried up river with the half drawn bridges was definitely a nice visual. (Though why in 200 years you'd not done some renovating seems rather weird - especially with some of the grandiose buildings in some of the sectors.)

Conclusion: With the lack of a recap putting the viewers off center, the film never heats up as much as it could have with the audience. Some cool sims, some snappy lines, but really nothing much to get really excited about. Which was a pity. You'll think this is the end, but there's two more movies coming. But no hint of it in the film at all. Too bad.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Divergent

Divergent

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Zoë Kravitz, Ray Stevenson, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Christian Madsen, and more.

Directed by: Neil Burger Screenplay by: Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor Based on the Novels by: Veronica Roth Cinematography by: Alwin H. Küchler Music by: Junkie XL

Premise: Years after a war that destroyed most of the world, Chicago continues to function due to a five category split caste system. Beatrice and her brother have reached the age of choosing and go have the test which will show them which of the castes they are more aligned towards. Except the test in Beatrice's case came out as inconclusive, something the tester makes sure she understands and warns her not to tell anyone about. As Breatice struggles to make a decision on who she wants to be, she also starts getting an inkling that the system may not be functioning like it's supposed to anymore. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1)  Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Shailene Woodley does a good job as the spunky and fearless Tris. Theo James was delicious as the aloof, mysterious, yet slowly warming teacher named Four. Kate Winslet deftly sent mixed signals and kept the audience guessing in her role as Jeanine.

2)  Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Most of the special effects are subtle and are mostly in the background - the ship in the middle of the wheat fields, the giant mesh wall around the city, the compact wind turbines mounted on the sides of dead Chicago buildings.

In the drug induced sequences the special effects play a bigger part, and with some nicely imaginative segues. Tris's initiation ride after the war games was scary fun.  

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: I've not read the series of YA novels the film is based on, so I can't give any kind of opinion on how faithfully rendered the movie was. Although, from all the clapping and whistling during several points in the film, it appeared that many of the fans were pleased.

There were definitely several elements seeded over the course of the film that grabbed my attention and not only warned of possible troubles ahead for our heroine, but the society she'd been raised in as well. Hints and bits of the political and social order and the bubbling issues beneath the surface get flashed here and there, as we follow Tris through the typical angst caused by bullies and the not so typical stress of getting thrown into a situation from which she and others might not survive.

There aren't many surprises in the story, but enough stuff is going on to entertain.

4) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The opening scene started with the mundane, then took a left turn. It spoke volumes without a single word being said. The sweeps of the remnants of Chicago were deftly done. The skyline seemed familiar yet also alien due to the broken spires and the turbines attached to them like extra growths.

Conclusion: "Divergence" was entertaining. The premise is unusual, although overall the plot was pretty standard. The visuals of the city and the imagery used in the mental tests for the choosing, and later to force the initiates to face their fears were rather cool.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating:  Worth Full Price of Admission)