Insurgent – review

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It seems like only yesterday that we had Mockingjay: Part 1 representing the young adult film genre in the Christmas market. Apparently the crafty marketers behind Insurgent aren’t even waiting until the summer influx of blockbusters to figuratively duff up youths and take their pocket money. Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts (on the rare occasion she actually appears) and Shailene Woodley demonstrate some fantastic acting among the beautifully depicted, post-apocalyptic playground of Chicago in this sequel to 2014’s Divergent.

Phew, that’s the positives largely out of the way. On a rudimentary level, Insurgent does do its job, but we sit in a darkened room for two hours awaiting any spark of originality or cleverness.

Let’s check off the key elements. We have the evil quasi-Fascist government. We have the factions which just randomly exist. We have the powerful female character who supposedly makes a great role model but would probably be considered a terrible one if she were male. We have the inane love story. We have needless plot twists. We have the overwhelming CGI. We have the rest of the world being conveniently forgotten. Have we seen that one before, guys? Guys…?

Most of the characters are unlikeable and, worse, contradictory. The motivations behind what they’re doing are shallow, yet they all manage to change their minds about what side they’re on at least once, sometimes twice. Oh yeah, there’s a civil war going on. And (of course) it’s all down to Tris (Woodley) to save this utterly baffling society.

The society is comprised of five factions, all based on various attributes, and Tris is eligible for all of them. Instead of being the natural leader or, at least, considered the most qualified to negotiate on all of their behalf, Tris is instead being hunted on vague allegations of disrupting the system. I mean, didn’t you know you aren’t meant to accept people who are in some way different in your society? Duh! Then we have the hunky boyfriend, Four, (Theo James) who manages to be both tenderly caring and a cold-blooded killer. Because that’s how people are in war, right? Duh! Then we have the scheming brother (Ansel Elgort), who’s a total dweeb yet is jumped to the top of the most bureaucratic society imaginable after he makes friends with those in power. Because that’s how societies built on rationality work, right? Duh!

Then we have the mysterious rebel (Watts) who just happens to have an army of “Factionless” and is ready to usurp the system at any moment— and isn’t given nearly enough screen time to boot. Because homeless people are always ready to start tearing down the big bad state, right? God guys, you aren’t getting any of these!

Kate Winslet’s fantastic performance as the Machiavellian wannabe dictator makes her, ironically, the most sympathetic character. Pity we couldn’t just have her deliver the film in the form of a dramatic monologue.

Overall, the film is two hours of pointless, non-stop action with a few scenes of derivative love and coming-of-age sentiments. If this sounds like your thing, fine, go see it. For everyone else in the world, you’ll be mouthing Woodley as she intones the most relatable line in the whole film: “What on Earth am I doing here?”

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