(Please note: This review is written in such a manner as to not spoil the film for those who have yet to see it and/or who are yet to read the book.)
The film adaptation of the concluding novel in Veronica Roth’s bestselling YA dystopian trilogy, Allegiant, hit theaters on March 18th. However, the Divergent film franchise isn’t ending here–a fourth film, Ascendant, is scheduled for summer 2017. And this is disappointingly obvious when watching Allegiant.
Starring Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars) as Tris, Theo James (Downton Abbey) as Four, and directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Allegiant follows its protagonists as they leave their isolated, dystopian Chicago behind in order to explore the (possibly even more sinister) world beyond.
More than anything else, Allegiant feels like a prologue to Ascendant, which seems as if it will be comprised of almost entirely new material, diverging the film franchise from the course previously trodden by the books (if you don’t mind the pun). This could be a good thing since–I’ll come right out and say it–Allegiant (the book) is not very good. However, the film preceding this one in the Divergent franchise (Insurgent) is also not very good. So the only hope, really, for Allegiant (the movie) was that it would find a way to surpass its predecessors and get the franchise back on track for this all-new, concluding fourth installment.
In some ways, the filmmakers do accomplish this. They’ve remedied a number of the weaker plot points of the book while also (thankfully) moving away from the worst of the cheesy cinematic elements introduced in Insurgent. Likewise, the generally talented cast continues to do the best they can with the material available, and a number of set pieces are detailed and stunning in such a way as to make it clear that the crew cares a lot about this story.
Despite all of this, however, Allegiant cannot seem to help being weak. Even with the shakiest plot points and some of the cheese eradicated, a lot still remain. (In particular, a long-take of James broodily showering under mood lighting cheapens the tone more than it feels artistic.) Additionally, the CGI that seems to populate half the movie looks like something from a decade ago and, despite the cast’s best efforts, they cannot mask how melodramatic and lazy the writing is.
Really, the chief problem of Allegiant seems to be that it thinks it is one thing (artistic and introspective and deep) while in reality, at best, it is something else entirely (fun and action-packed and tongue-in-cheek comedic). What both the book and the film versions of this story seem to have forgotten is what made the Divergent series so good in the first place: not political messages, but snarky banter; not deep philosophical concepts, but a plethora of twists and nerve-wracking stunts.
Ultimately, this film feels like what a bunch of old guys probably think teen girls like, rather than anything that actually reflects this target demographic. Add to that the fact that Allegiant feels like it’s mostly just build-up for Ascendant, and the film is a disappointingly weak installment in an increasingly disappointingly weak film franchise.
Of course, I do have to give Allegiant credit, though, for managing to get a commendable number of attractive people on screen at once. A+ job on the hot guys. If only they did a little less angsty-staring and a little more franchise-saving.
Allegiant is in theaters now. Tickets are available for showings at both Goodrich Quality 16 and Ann Arbor 20 (Rave).
