It is rare for a movie to be as good as the book, but what’s even more unusual

is when it is better. The film adaptation of Divergent,the first novel in Veronica Roth’s trilogy of dystopian thrillers, was a solid movie that is faithful to the book. It is always exciting when books are taken to the screen, because it provides the visuals needed for the intense train jumping, war games, and the brutal initiation.

The movie does an

accurate job covering the books plot without leaving out any main points. For example, the fear landscapes were transformed into a more realistic depiction on screen. It has met more than just the expectations, it has exceeded them.

Fans of the book will be pleased with how well the movie follows the story line. Apart from altering the ending, the Dauntless had their audacious scenes kept exciting and adventurous. There were only subtle details changed to condense a 487 page book into a 2 . hour movie. The trainings were shortened from three stages to only two, physical and mental, but instead of leaving the entire emotional stage out, stages two and three were combined.

Set in a futuristic, dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions. When all teenagers turn 16, they must take an aptitude test, which determines what faction best fits them. Beatrice’s test results came back inconclusive, meaning that she didn’t only show one faction in her, she was in fact an abnegation, dauntless, and erudite. Society calls this rare occurrence, Divergent, making her dangerous. If anyone were to find out about her, it would mean immediate death.

Beatrice must decide whether she is going to stay with her family or leave them forever. As newly named Tris and the other members go throughout initiation, they must undergo extreme physical and mental psychological tests that will change them forever. Tris and the trainer Four, soon discover a secret plan that the Erudite are planning, that will threaten everyone’s life, especially the Divergent.

Not only does Divergent contain a great storyline, action, and romance in it, it also has a stellar group of actors/actresses. Main characters Tris, and Four, are portrayed by the stunning Shailene Woodley and the very attractive Theo James, who delivered scenes like the war games, and knife-throwing scenes flawlessly. Shailene and Theo have a natural chemistry together which makes their relationship a lot smoother on screen.

On the downside, there are a few things that did not turn out as good as it could have. The film presents just a few of Tris’s fear landscape elements, and one of her fears that does make it in gets an unfortunately disturbing take.

As in the novel, Tris is scared of getting intimate with Four, but somehow it plays out on screen as a borderline assault with Tris imagining that Four is basically trying to force himself upon her. Many

fans have been simply creeped out by that moment and see it as a poor (and just weird) representation of the book’s scene.

Although the cinematic rendition of “Divergent” has the main essence of the novel, it is recommended to read the book before seeing the movie so you have a deeper understanding of the background and characters. But if you don’t have time to read it, the movie is still a stellar stand-alone. “Fear does something strange to people, but not you. It doesn’t shut you down, it

wakes you up.” – Four, Divergent