New Divergent Movie Received Overall Mixed Reviews From Major Critics
New Divergent movie received overall mixed reviews from major critics. Summit Entertainment (Lionsgate) released their new action/adventure flick, “Divergent,” into theaters today, March 21st, and the reviews from the top,major critics are in. The movie ended up, getting mixed reviews, overall, with a 49 score out of a possible 100 across 29 reviews at Metacritic.com. We’ve included a some snippets from a few of the critics,below.
The film stars: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zo? Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, and Kate Winslet.
Bill Zwecker from the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it an awesome 88 score, stating, “The strength of Burger’s movie is the fact that a non-reader of Roth’s work can enjoy Divergent and not be confused by any aspect of the storyline.” Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly, gave it an 83 score. He said: “Woodley, through the delicate power of her acting, does something compelling: She shows you what a prickly, fearful, yet daring personality looks like when it’s nestled deep within the kind of modest, bookish girl who shouldn’t even like gym class.”
Michael O’Sullivan over at the Washington Post, gave it a 75, stating, “Director Neil Burger (“Limitless”) has crafted a popcorn flick that’s leaner, more propulsive and more satisfying than the bestseller that inspired it.” Claudia Puig from USA Today, gave it a 63 grade,saying, “Despite two strong lead performances and a welcome dose of female empowerment, this somber tale feels too familiar and formulaic.”
Kenneth Turan over at the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 60 score. He said: “It’s an acceptable, play-it-safe version of the first volume in the hugely popular Veronica Roth-written trilogy.” Ty Burr at the Boston Globe, gave it a 50 grade, stating, “Divergent is almost good enough to make you forget what a cynical exercise it is on every possible level. The original 2011 young adult novel by Veronica Roth — reasonably engrossing, thoroughly disposable — reads exactly like what it is: an ambitious young author’s attempt to re-write “The Hunger Games” without bringing the lawyers down on her head.”
Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it another 50 grade. He stated: “This society makes no sense except as a metaphor. The social layout of Divergent was supposedly devised so as to maintain peace, but putting people into airtight factions guarantees conflict.”
Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 score, stating, “The generic bulk of Divergent hits its marks and moves on.” Lou Lumenick from the New York Post, gave it a 50. He stated: “Divergent is a clumsy, humorless and shamelessly derivative sci-fi thriller set in a generically dystopian future.”
Elizabeth Weitzman at the New York Daily News, gave it a 40 score, saying, “Too bad this would-be heir, Divergent, is so unimaginative and bland.” The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis, gave it a 40 grade as well, stating, “Ms. Roth’s prose style is good enough and Tris appealing enough that, at least in the book, it’s easy to breeze past the plot holes. It’s harder to ignore those flaws in the movie, partly because the director, Neil Burger (“Limitless”), gives you little to hang onto — beauty, thrills, a visual style.”
Sheri Linden at the The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 40, saying, “Director Neil Burger struggles to fuse philosophy, awkward romance and brutal action. Even with star Shailene Woodley delivering the requisite toughness and magnetism, the clunky result is almost unrelentingly grim.”
Andrew Barker over at Variety, gave it a 40 as well, stating, “By trying to cram in as many explanatory info dumps as possible, Burger neglects to tend to the elements of the film that could easily make up for any narrative deficiencies: namely, a sense of place and a feeling of urgency.”
Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, gave it a pretty bad 38 score, stating, “Except for Kate Winslet’s fearsome turn as a villain, the only terror Divergent roused in me was that the drag-ass thing would never end. Sorry, I’m a Candor.” Lastly, Joe Morgenstern from the Wall Street Journal, gave it a really bad 20 score, saying, “In all candor, and with all the amity I can muster, Divergent is as dauntingly dumb as it is dauntingly long.” Stay tuned. Also, get your favorite Movie stuff, and more by Clicking Here.
