See Divergent before you see Insurgent

Movie:  Insurgent

PG-13, 1 hour 59 minutes

Grade:              B

In a Nutshell:  Veronica Roth’s Young Adult Dystopian sequel picks up right where it left off in the first movie, Divergent.  If you haven’t seen it, watch it before you see this second part; otherwise, you won’t understand a lot of what’s going on.  It doesn't work as a stand-alone movie. You can read my movie review of Divergent here.

Uplifting Theme:

·         Sacrifice, forgiveness, fighting injustice

·         “I know you’re angry, but you’re letting it consume you.” – Johanna (the fabulous and underutilized in this movie Octavia Spencer)

Things I liked:

·         Lots of action and cool 3D special effects.

·         It was nice to see Daniel Dae Kim again from Lost - The Complete First Season .

·         I love twists and surprises in movies…

Things I didn’t like:

·         The plot has changed a bit from the books, but if you haven’t read the books, you won’t care.

·         Shailene Woodley’s character (Tris Prior) is either crying or super intense with not much in between.  The only development in her character from the first movie is that she cut her hair.

Interesting lines:

·         “I’m not gonna fight you.” – Tris Prior

“Of course, you’re not.  You’re gonna fight you.” – Jeanine Mathews (Kate Winslet)

·         “It just goes to show, you can take the girl out of abnegation, but you can’t take abnegation  out of the girl.” – Peter (Miles Teller)

Tips for Parents:

·         Some profanity and an implied sex scene between Tris and Four after passionate kissing.

·         1 F-bomb with very little other profanity.

Quick review of the 5 factions from their Manifestos:

Abnegation (The Selfless): “I choose to turn away from my reflection, to rely not on myself but on my brothers and sisters to protect always outward until I disappear.”

Erudite (The Intelligent): “Ignorance is defined not as stupidity, but as lack of knowledge.  Lack of knowledge inevitably leads to lack of understanding.  Lack of understanding leads to a disconnect among people with differences.  Disconnection among people with differences lead to conflict.  Knowledge is the only logical solution to the problem of conflict.

Dauntless (The Brave): We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.  We believe in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.”

Amity  (The Peaceful): “Give freely, trusting that you will be given what you need.  Do not be angry.  The opinions of others cannot damage you.  Cruel thoughts lead to cruel words, and hurt you as much as they hurt their target.”

Candor (The Honest):  Although Candor values honesty above all else, they also seek to develop impartiality.