Don't you hate it when you go to a movie that's based on a book you haven't read, and then have no idea what is going on? Don't worry, that's not the case with this movie. You do not have to read the book to know what's going on or understand it fully. Although, I do recommend the book, because it's VERY good.
I was a bit worried that this series would turn into another "Twilight fiasco," where viewers hated the casting, directing, music, and well...basically everything else. But I am happy to say that this movie turned out to be even better than I was expecting!
The casting is near perfect in this movie. I was really impressed with the choices they made. Shailene Woodley does an excellent job playing Tris, the heroin of the film. She plays this character with grace, and strength. You can relate to her, which is so important in a film like this.
Now let's talk about Theo James, who plays Four. Besides the fact that he's the most attractive man on the planet, he is the perfect Four. He's distant at first, hard, and serious. But as time goes on, you start to realize that he cares far more about the initiates than anyone else in Dauntless. He does a wonderful job with this character, and those who have read the book will not be disappointed.
Jai Courtney plays Eric, a vicious Dauntless leader that puts quite a few initiates at risk multiple times in the story. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this casting, and I was very impressed with his portrayal of Eric. I love Jai Courtney, and have enjoyed his other films, so I was excited to see that he was in the film!
Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn play Tris' parents. I was incredibly happy to see Tony Goldwyn in this movie, I love him and think he is so talented. He's Hollywood royalty, you know!
And I can't forget the amazing Kate Winslet. She plays the "villain" of the film, Jeanine, an erudite leader trying to take control of the factions. She does a great job of seeming good but having a secret agenda.
Neil Burger's directing is great and the screenplay is perfect. Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor did a fabulous job sticking to the book and keeping things mostly in order. The set design is impressive, and so is the costume design. Carlo Poggioli did a wonderful job designing each factions clothing and style. It's like the costume details popped right out of the book and onto the screen.
The fighting sequences were shot well and came across as very real. I was impressed by the training scenes and how intense they were.
I definitely need to mention the chemistry between Leo and Shailene. At first I thought, "that's an odd coupling," but these two do a great job of creating the sexual tension and attraction that is so evident in the book. You can actually see these two being an item in real life, because they play their parts so well. There's nothing worse than two actors pretending to have chemistry and not conveying it well enough (i.e. Reese Witherspoon and Rob Pattinson in Water for Elephants).
I was impressed by absolutely everything in this movie, and I really don't have a bad thing to say about it. Not a single thing. I LOVED it. And you will too. I promise.
This movie is a ride, and you won't lose interest. It's not an Oscar-winner, but it's still a very good film.
Go out and see it now!
Rating: ****1/2 / 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment