March 22, 2015 -- Harry Potter set off an endless cycle of young adult fiction books adapted into profitable movies, such as, Twilight, The Hunger Games, The Giver, Maze Runner, Divergent, etc. Most of these have been praised by either critics, or by fans, despite less than adequate stories and characters in most.

At least the Harry Potter stories were well-written and the movie adaptations of those stories were first class productions with competent, sometimes first-class direction (as in Alfonso Cuarón). That is, until the Harry Potter folks made the fateful decision to make two movies out of the last book, which was artistically despicable, but financially successful. Now we're stuck with that. Witness the awful mess of making three movies out of “The Hobbit.”

I have seen all these movies, most of which have featured some romance, yet I've only seen one of these series which has a believable love story, and that is in the two films of the Divergent series. Now the basic premises of Divergent and Insurgent are just as silly and unbelievable as the rest of these movie adaptations, but at least these films have some characters who seem like real people to me, with believable character motivations. The love story between the two main characters, Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James of “Underworld Awakening”) is a believable one. It works.

It still works in the second film, “Insurgent,” even though it takes a back seat to action and drama. In this film, Tris and Four lead a rebellion against the rulers of the high-tech dystopian kingdom of Chicago where the main part of this story is set. Tris wants to kill the leader of this little empire, Jeanine (played by Kate Wins let of “Contagion”) who has done terrible things, including Nazi-like experiments on humans.

The reason for the experiments is to find the key to opening a mysterious box, found in the ruins of Tris' former home, hidden there by her parents. This box can only be opened by Tris. Jeanine (this name doesn't sound threatening) thinks the box is the key to unlocking the power to wipe out the divergent threat. For those of you who don't know, divergents, like Tris, are those who cannot be made to fit into the rigid caste system of this society.

It is easy to see where this story is going, despite what you might hear from some people who think this plot is too complicated, and I say that as a person who hasn't read the books. Even though it is not hard to figure out the nature of the mysterious box in advance, it is nonetheless a satisfying journey to the conclusion of this movie, except for a very distasteful and immoral shooting depicted at the end.

This series is not well liked by most male critics and fans, while it is well liked by most female critics and fans. I think the reason that critics and audiences are very divided by this movie has to do with the main character, Tris. She is an exceptionally strong female character. An argument can be made that Tris is a far stronger female character than Katniss Everdeen is in the Hunger Games series. A lot of people, even some feminists, just can't stand a strong woman. Witness the widespread hatred of powerful women like Hilary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Condoleezza Rice.

Both Tris and Katniss are played by exceptional young actresses, who carry heavy responsibilities for the success of their relative franchises. Both actresses play the most important characters in their respective series. While both of them play characters who are leaders, Tris is a more independent leader, who is not defined by her relationship to a man or governed by her loyalty to him. Instead, Four is governed by his love of Tris. Even though he is her mentor, she leads and he follows. This is almost unheard of in Hollywood movies. Tris may be the most dominant well-known female action hero since the Ripley character in “Aliens” (1986). In this regard, “Divergent” and “Insurgent” are reminiscent of films produced by Gale Ann Hurd (“Aliens,” “The Abyss” and the “Terminator” series). This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2015 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .