Review of Insurgent (2015) by Mónica H — 03 May 2015

Following 2014s unspectacular (and plain bland) Divergent-the first in a planned four-film series adapted from a trilogy of YA-themed books from Veronica Roth-the idea of enduring another would-be survival of Tris and Four (and surviving names like that) as they attempt to outwit the tyrannical Erudite Faction in 2015s Insurgent left me wanting to become Factionless-to have no association whatsoever.

But one not to stop midway through a story, I can say that Insurgent is a rare oddity in film-a sequel that is leaps and bounds better than the predecessor. Yes, the first is not healthy competition-due to flat, exposition-heavy writing, generic music and bad directing (the film's major disappointment considering the work that Neil Burger had done prior) among others-but the creative decisions made with Insurgent are inspired.

Replaced have been many of the factions just mentioned. Original writers Evan Daughtery and Vanessa Taylor swapped out with a new trio of scripters (one of which-Akiva Goldsman-has won an Oscar) gives the film a worthy platform to build from (although this could be so because the source material isn't the most stimulating), the conveyor-belt score from before, spruced up and given much needed energy from Joseph Trapanese and Robert Schwentke (of 2010s Red fame) takes on the directing duties, giving the series much needed focus (with Burger as a producer).

With these solid decisions, the journey through the futuristic dystopian Chicago is fun and dare I say-interesting. Despite these quality additions though, the film isn't a perfect sim due to the series' biggest weakness-the source material.

With a plot that is very thin and stretched, many of the "problems" that occur are repetitive or don't hold much weight, making a false sense of drama (a major problem with Divergent). Although these hindrance's crippled the first film, the writers (and the production team) have done enough to make Insurgent an acceptable affair.

As this is a middle chapter in a three-act tale, Insurgent isn't a finale, merely a setup for a bigger story and sets the viewer's expectations enough that you won't need to be a Dauntless to muster up the courage to see out the end.