Review of Allegiant (2016) by Thequietgamer — 21 Jul 2016

Just like previous entries in the Divergent series, you'll be watching a bunch of pretty sci-fi stuff happening onscreen. This movie actually ups that element quite a bit, making it the best looking Divergent movie yet. However poor plotting and generic vibes make it the weakest entry thus far.

There really isn't anything to set it apart from any of the other YA novel movies. It's characters are generic stereotypes of the genre and their conflict hits all of the same beats. Even in the action department is fails to capture the excitement, stakes, and surprising brutality of it's older sibling the Hunger Games series, let alone it's emotional connectivity where the plot is concerned. I appreciate the message of celebrating diversity and having everyone look past their differences and come together as one (which in case you didn't pick up early on in the series, it outright spells it out for you here), I just wish there was more substance backing it up.

That's been the issue with each movie so far. Well, that and the fact that they all have just felt like setups to the real conflict of the series. "Allegiant" just amplifies all of those issues. Literally nothing of consequence happens here. All the movie does is throw back the curtain to reveal the series big villain and tell us we have to wait until next time to see him get what he deserves. However Allegiant's biggest issue is that it leaves us questioning whether or not this dude is a villain.

By the time the credits rolled I witnessed Jeff Daniels play what could be the most poorly fleshed out villain in cinematic history. For the life of me I cannot figure out this guy's motives. I have no idea what the heck he is doing or why and that's because the movie doesn't tell me. Seriously, it gives him no goal. Maybe people who have read the book get it. As far as those of us who have just watched these movies, prepared to be lost. As far as we know this guy is just doing this stuff for absolutely no reason. What stuff is he doing? I'm not 100% clear on that either. He and our main character seem to be fighting just because.

It's eye candy and nothing more. A lot of pleasant looking sci-fi special effects creating a very hollow and poorly explained world. If you enjoyed the previous movies you'll likely enjoy this. It's not like you stuck around for the plot anyway. I appreciate the themes, the visuals, and Miles Teller for bringing a sense of humor to the thing. I don't appreciate the senseless plot, meh action scenes, and straight up boring nature of it. I can say that the first two Divergent movies did at least try to be more than cash-ins on the Hunger Games craze. At least the first one did. That isn't the case here. It's got some minor thrills, but it's the worst Divergent yet and I don't see how they are going to do any better with the next one.

4.