Movie review: Insurgent (2015)

Before I talk about this movie, let me suggest you something: watch “Divergent” first. This isn’t one of those sequels in which you can understand the plot without knowing, at least a little bit, what happened in the first movie (Yes, I watched “Divergent” first and that’s why I know I couldn’t have understood the sequel without having watched it).

As a quick recapitulation, in “Divergent” we learn about a city divided into 5 factions: Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless) and Candor (the honest). The main character Tris (the great Shailene Woodley), however, is “Divergent” in the sense that she has the qualities of all 5 factions. Because of that characteristic, the divergents are not welcome and are hunted down as threats.

In “Insurgent”, we see an atmosphere of civil war as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. Tris and her boyfriend Four (Theo James), along with her silly brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and Peter (Miles Teller, responsible for many of the plot-twists in the movie), are running away from Jeanine (Kate Winslet) and Tris is forced to make difficult choices to protect those around her.

I think this movie is even better than the first one, with the characters showing more complex sides and dilemmas. Everyone is forced to make choices and with every choice you give something up, as it always happens in life. It also talks about tolerance and acceptance because of differences between people. It is a rather dark movie, with heavy stuff going on all the time.

The visual part is also stunning, with great special effects. Also, there were a lot of moments that I felt like I was watching “Inception” (is this scene real or is it in her dreams??).

Naomi Watts is also in the movie but I can’t talk about her character without spoiling the plot. Finally, I really like Shailene Woodley as Tris and, in my opinion, she’s one of the best actresses of her generation. So, to sum up, it’s a great movie and a great option for this season of few watchable releases in the theaters…

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