Oh no, am I late?! I have been so busy lately, but I have so much to say about this topic, I’m going to write on it anyway. Book to movie adaptions- something that really strikes strongly with me. And one I’ve really been wanting to talk about lately was the Divergent movie.
To:
This post is for Armchair BEA, by the way, but I didn’t add my button because of the lateness. Is BEA already over? Honestly I have no clue. I’m the white rabbit running out of the loop. But I just want to be able to write about this topic!
A lot of people loved the Divergent movie- and I can see why. The actors were decent, the special effects were good and- most importantly always- it followed the book. But honestly, I hated it. Why? Well, let’s look at the reasons I loved the book:
- Character development between Four and Tris.
- Conflict of Tris learning to become brave, normally accompanied by her terror.
- Tris’s curiosity as to what she is and what it means, and the danger that follows.
Are we missing something here?
Yes. We are. Feeling.
Yes, the characters went where they were supposed to and did what they did in the book, but there was no feeling behind it. I can see the director placed a lot of importance on following the book directly, and maybe this was a good idea because everyone seemed to love the movie, but to me the movie seemed like a big hodge podge of “did we follow that plot line? Yes? Ok, on to the next one.”
The entire movie’s goal was getting from point A to point B!
So yes Tris climbs the Ferris Wheel, and damn that Ferris Wheel looked good, but you never find out that it was one of the things that interested Four in her.
So yes Four shows Tris his fears, something it’s unlikely he’s done for anyone before, but you don’t have any idea how hard this was for him and how significant it was for Tris.
So yes Tris ends up on top of the list due to her divergence, but you have no sense of that- even though she’s deemed most brave- she’s terrified of everyone around her, even her friends.
I’m glad they followed the plot in the book, I really am. But I felt no connection in the characters, no significance in the events- hell I wouldn’t even have known the side characters’ names if I hadn’t read the book! (There was one character that I knew was going to die later and I asked the people I was watching the movie with “do you know his name?” They didn’t. I doubt we’ll feel anything when he dies that’s not “oh. Too bad.”) Overall, I was bored watching Divergent, and after about halfway through I was just steaming the with indignance of it. I find it hard to believe even the director was emotionally invested in this film. I guess the whole point was to follow the book so people wouldn’t rave (remember Avatar: The Last Airbender? UGH) and make a whole ton of money.
What about you? Did you like the Divergent movie? Do you think I’m just flat out wrong? I’m interested in your opinion!
Danni Mae 
I have read the book, but haven’t watched the movie. I often like the movie less and they can make me feel or experience the books differently, so I don’t think I’ll watch it. And I still haven’t read the last book yet.
Iam sorry to hear that you didn’t feel the emotions behind it as I think that’s one of the things that make books feel alive, because you feel the emotions with the characters. And while the movie might follow the plot, I can understand why you didn’t enjoy it because it lacked emotion.
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Yea, as the emotion behind the reading is one of the most important aspects of a book, it’s sad that the same doesn’t go for the movie. Thanks for visiting!
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I haven’t seen the Divergent movie yet. I think that this is a common problem though in book to movie adaptions. It takes some amazing acting ability to show come across the screen and please us bookish fans. The book is always going to be more descriptive, whether it be about scenery or feelings, and the scenery is easier to get in a movie if it is described well in a book. Of course, if the author leaves a lot to the imagination, which is what I prefer, no movie maker in the world will set the scene that way that we have imagined it.
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That’s true. The scenery was done beautifully here, better than I could have imagined it, although a lot of it was the same. And the actors weren’t bad, they were just rushed. It’s a shame- a book movie, to me, is only good if people would like it if the book didn’t even exist. Like the Harry Potter movies (even though I know that’s not your thing.)
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I actually saw the movie before I read the book which was a dumb move, I actually thought the movie was was better than the book because of that way. I do see your points though, I’m not sure when Four started liking Tris though. Have you read Insurgent or saw the movie yet? I just felt it was disappointing 😦
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I actually read Insurgent before Divergent by accident (haha) but I’m glad I did. I ended up liking Divergent far more and this way I didn’t have to deal with the disappointment! I haven’t seen the movie, and I doubt I will unless someone I know ends up loving it. Insurgent is a lot less eventful, so maybe they’ll have more time in the movie for more character development!
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Yes, the movie was just so cheesy 😦 I didn’t even like the romance in it, it took too much of the movie since Tris was traumatized by Will’s death. I hope the last movie is better though.
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I may go see the next one- I don’t know yet. The first had all of the elements of a good movie, but in the end I feel like it just flopped. At least it was better than most book movies. Thanks for visiting!
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I read Divergent before it got super super hyped and loved it! It was one of the books that really pushed me into the dystopian genre. I wasn’t particularly excited about the announcement of it becoming a movie but it didn’t surprise me either. Of course I was going to go see it with no expectations because I’ve learned it’s better that way when it comes to book to movie adaptations. For me, what seriously ruined the movie was the casting of Shailene Woodley as Tris. I’ve never liked her anything she acted in and I just didn’t picture her as Tris at all. So I spent most of the movie annoyed at the fact that Tris was such a strong character and Shailene didn’t portray that at all. But on the other hand, Jai Courtney as Eric was perfect in my opinion. He actually made me want to go back and read the book just to pay better attention to Eric’s character. But alas, even without the book to movie aspect, I don’t think I would have gotten past the casting of Tris.
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I kind of agree for the main actress. I just don’t think she fit. Her face looked blank a lot of the time and she has this naive, girlish look that just doesn’t seem to fit Tris- scared as she was in the beginning. Thanks for visiting!
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I definitely agree! It’s going to be interesting how Allegiant goes.
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I really enjoyed the books, besides the last one which I felt was a bit rushed and I didn’t like the ending. I quite liked the first film but not keen on the second at all. Btw I have nominated you for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award on my blog 🙂
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The last one felt a little strange to me, too. It was just so different from the others, and it made everything seem pointless.
Thanks so much! I’ll go check it out!
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Agreed it definitely made it all feel a bit pointless. I kept thinking she can’t of ended it like that…….
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I totally get where you’re coming from…gah. I liked it, but all up I was disappointed. I DIDN’T SEE SHAILENE WOODLEY AS TRIS. I think she makes an epic Hazel from TFIOS, but not Tris. 😦 And I didn’t really ship her and Four because looks so much older. Maybe he’s not IRL. But yeah, the whole looks thing threw me. I have to admit I totally teared up when her mum died though. ZOMG That was a powerful scene. Will’s death was not. Nope. I barely even knew which kid he was and I’ve read the book twice.
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That’s exactly what I’m talking about! It feels like the entire book is about her remorse over Will and you don’t even really get they’re friends. Also, she didn’t seem like Tris to me, either. She just has such a baby face, and I imagined Tris as more headstrong, and I was surprised when I saw Four, too. Erg. I know the casting’s NEVER gunna work out the way we imagined, but I don’t think I’ve met anyone that liked her for Tris.
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Oh! Also, your image for some reason isn’t connecting to your blog. Luckily, I already know what it is, but it’ll throw off others. (Not that you really NEED the traffic. Did you do it on purpose to get some free time to yourself? That’s horrible!)
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I watched this ages ago so I can’t remember too much about it, but I also remember being bored watching this one. 😦 I didn’t really feel a connection with the characters either, and the romance between Four/Tris didn’t really have the chemistry I would’ve wanted to. What’s worse is that I’ve heard the Insurgent movie is twice as bad. D:
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Maybe I WON’T watch the second, then. I’m glad others feel the same way about this movie, because the general consensus I got was that it was wonderful and everyone loved it. Thanks for visiting!
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