INSURGENT

Director: Robert Schwentke
Writers:  Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Theo James 
Strength: Effects and some action sequences
Weakness: Bad script, predictable, simply not as good as Divergent
Runtime: 119 minutes
Rating: 2/5 

Plot: Tris must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart with the help from others on her side. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships. Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Review:  The word "insurgent" means to actively revolt, implying some distinctiveness that sets its participants apart from the norm. Ironically, the film Insurgent, a faded photocopy of other teen sci-fi dramas, doesn't have a single unique bone in its body. Not that it's aggressively terrible. There are some decent sci-fi elements and even a couple of mildly intriguing moments. But like clockwork, every slight turn for the better is quickly overwhelmed by extreme boredom. Insurgent is simply a dull and uninteresting sequel. That word "sequel" should connote a progression of sorts, but no. As little as I remember about the previous entry in the Divergent Series, I can tell you this: shaky cam action scenes, bloviating about "special ones", and constant fighting for the McGuffin-of-the- week were the focus and are still in full form here. At the center is Woodley, an actress with a whole lot of acting talent that simply doesn't have the room presence of strength to carry this sort of role. She presents a microcosm problem for an entire film full of great actors terribly miscast. Teller and Elgort manage some natural charisma and charm from their otherwise absent characters, Watts and Spencer are all but completely missing, and Winslet is just plain wasted. It's none of their fault; they just can't make the embarrassingly constant melodrama 
palatable. 

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Reviewed by Mohammad Haque