DIVERGENT

Hot, Hotter, Hottest!  Move over HUNGER GAMES.  This is a female AND male survival of the fittest epic that encapsulates self-reliance and free will – a compelling premise.

After a Great War, cities have been leveled.  A new political order, set in futuristic Chicago, is established to eliminate further devastation.  For this to happen all youth must face Choosing Day when they hit age 16 and declare acceptance in 1of 5 seemingly enlightened categories.  These will define how they must peacefully live for the rest of their lives.  God forbid if you think outside the box.

Since we all are currently living in a polarized U.S. political system, the film resonates.  Speak out and disagree with a commonly held belief?  Duck!

In this film, being labeled Divergent (a free thinking spirit), puts one at serious risk.  Of course.  Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior (Shailene Woodley) wants to fit in with her perception of family and friends so she goes through a rigorous training program to prove how she can overcome almost unimaginable physical challenges to fit in and make her loved ones proud.  Her assigned State-sanctioned Monitor, named Four, (Theo James) is a steely and sizzling athletic judge who pushes her to the max. 

When Tris falters, you recognize the compelling look that Four suddenly gives her now compromises his detached objectivity.  She is revealed as Divergent.  The tension that precedes their first kiss -- and how their compromised lives subsequently unravel --  drives the rest of the film. 

Sure, it may seem overly long for the plot to develop, as did Veronica Roth’s trilogy aimed at young adults.  But this adaption is geared for a broad audience and delivers nicely.  Kate Winslet certainly adds luster to villainy, stirring welcome pepper into the stew!