The film is more interesting than the average bad movie precisely because it so gratuitously, and even thematically, fails to fit together.

| Aug 28, 2019

This is a rite-of-passage film, with action, romance and self-realization woven in. But unlike some others of this genre, Divergent is thought-provoking teen sci-fi.

| Aug 14, 2019

... Divergent, despite multiple claims otherwise, tries to capture the format of The Hunger Games but completely phones in almost each element.

| Original Score: C- | Sep 5, 2017

Dramatically, Divergent wanders, but over rich philosophical soil.

| Apr 28, 2014

If I had to join a faction, I'd be looking for one called Bafflement or Exasperation. After spending the best part of five hours watching Divergent and Only Lovers Left Alive, I understand why audiences are flocking to see the Muppets and The Lego Movie.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 11, 2014

Science fiction it may be, but the essence of the film is that timeless adolescent conundrum: who am I?

| Apr 10, 2014

Woodley's performance is proof, if proof were needed, that only Jennifer Lawrence can do 'blank-faced teen' compellingly.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 9, 2014

Really the film is so intent on setting things up for, presumably, subsequent films that it forgets to be entertaining and involving in its own right, I think, and so I found this going over my head. I wasn't really interested in all of this.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 9, 2014

The conflicts inherent in old-fashioned high school movies are accommodated, with bullying to stir the blood and romance to set the heart thumping. But Divergent's assimilation of all this fails to excite.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 9, 2014

Romance and self-realisation wrapped in violence now sell a whole lot of tickets. At least Divergent has more to ponder than most of the field.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 9, 2014

Drab production design (bombed-out buildings and Blake's 7 costumes) aims for gloomy portent, but the grit feels as fake as the fashionable tattoos.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 6, 2014

Veronica Roth loyalists may be delighted. Most everyone else will be aching for the credits.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 4, 2014

This is a slickly made, energetic teen sci-fi yarn, let down by its derivative and schematic storyline.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 4, 2014

Those with a high tolerance for blockbusters in which non-fetishised females save the day will be able to put up with its flaws - including lacklustre action sequences and a preoccupation with tattoos.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 4, 2014

What a conformist message.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 3, 2014

The more you scrutinise the society Roth and these screenwriters have created, the more it seems a chintzily self-designed dystopia whose rules and entire infrastructure are pure cardboard.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 3, 2014

A futuristic challenge romp in the Hunger Games style.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 3, 2014

An exceptional teen girl rises up from the slurry of humanity and goes on to mount a revolution against... you know the drill.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 3, 2014

Barely diverting.

| Mar 31, 2014

Smart, tough and a little bit cool, this is an intriguing opening rather than a slam-dunk in its own right, but the cast - and especially Woodley - make it sufficiently diverting to merit a place in the action franchise ranks.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 31, 2014