In the novel “Insurgent”, Tris, the protagonist, is faced with the task of saving her society from the Erudite faction which attempts to exterminate all divergents (including her). Throughout the novel, her relationships and sanity are tested to their breaking point.

Though we came into the movie with low expectations, we had a smidgen of hope that it would surpass them.
A week or so after “Insurgent”’s release, we finally got a chance to see the “highly anticipated” film, and boy, was it interesting. Having both read the book, we had a general idea of what the movie should have been like, the key word being “should have.”

We noticed many inconsistencies between the novel and the film, making it one of the worst book to movie adaptations we have seen to date.

The plot line was significantly altered, leaving those who read the book baffled and clueless as to what was even going on. It was, as if for some insane reason, the director’s goal was to keep those who read the book on their toes, but it actually had the complete opposite effect. We were so bored at times that had to force ourselves to stay awake. The director made many unnecessary changes to the smallest of details, which was the match to the fire of wrath that had already been brewing.

It also felt very rushed and lacked the vital details that made the book so good. The emotional aspect that made readers connect with Tris was seemingly non-existent. With the success of the first movie, we hoped that a new director would respect the essence of “Insurgent” and adapt it into a film that captured everything readers loved about Insurgent.

In “Divergent”, we watched Tris grow to become a leader in the revolution and fall in love with Tobias, who is her romantic interest throughout the series. In the book, we saw the horrors that had taken place really take a toll on Tris’ emotional stability as well as Tris’ relationship with Tobias. Ultimately in the novel, Tris and Tobias’ differences become evident while Tris develops an extreme case of post-traumatic stress disorder to the point that she becomes suicidal. So, when we saw Tris and Four appear to have a perfect relationship throughout the film, you could see how we might have been a little confused.

The world of “Insurgent” takes place in a futuristic, dystopian society so it is understandable that savvy technology and gadgets were incorporated into the movie. At times though, there were so many gadgets introduced that it made the film seem cheesy. For instance, when Eric pulled out a nifty gadget (that was never in the book) that measured one’s level of divergence, we couldn’t help but cackle at such ridiculousness.

CGI is used in many movies and often looks pretty realistic. In “Insurgent”, the CGI is so overdone, it looks fake and as if the actors are a part of a cartoon at times.

Once the movie concluded and the ending credits began to roll, signaling the audience that it was time to exit the theater, we just looked at each other with blank expressions. We asked ourselves repeatedly “what did we just watch?” being left absolutely speechless. We both concurred that the movie was an injustice to millions of avid readers.