Book vs Movie: Divergent
So I haven’t done a book vs. movie post in a long time! I hope to start doing these more regularly again. Last weekend I went to the movie theatre to see Divergent. Since I read the book before the movie, I’d like to share my thoughts with you.
Book:
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. (description from Goodreads)
Since I am a big fan of the dystopian genre I really enjoyed the novel. Originally, before even picking up the book, I thought it would be just another “Hunger Games” storyline (I had just finished that series). Boy was I proved wrong! Roth is a great writer and uses excellent detail and a creative imagination to piece together the “Divergent universe”. I love the use of the a big, well-known city, Chicago (one of my favorite places to visit), and turning it into a completely new world.
Tris comes from Abnegation only to choose Dauntless at the faction initiation ceremony and is immediately thrust into a new lifestyle to which she must adapt to. At first she comes off as weak, but as the time passes she becomes this strong woman mentally and physically. From time to time she still has doubts/vulnerabilities about being a Dauntless, but that’s what makes her so human and a likeable character. The novel was fast paced and action packed so I can’t wait to see how Insurgent will turn out when I read it.
Movie:
I think the movie adaptation was done pretty well. It captured the essence of the story and was able to explain enough stuff from the novel so that people who had never read the books were able to follow along well. The only things I was disappointed about were scenes getting cut. I watched some of the scenes that had me saying “what, was that in the book too?!”. An example of this is when Tris’ mom goes to talk to her at the Dauntless faction during family day (in the book). In the movie, Tris’ mom sneaks into one of Tris’ jobs and pulls her aside to tell her about upcoming danger. But the things they did cut from the story they added to other events that happened in the book, or just made completely new scenes.
The casting was done pretty well I think. Some of the actors/actress didn’t full match the descriptions, but their acting was good. I liked Shailene Woodley as Tris, Zoe Kravitz as the spunky Christina, and Theo James as the very attractive Four!
I also thought the actin scenes were pretty well done.
As well as the effects for fear simulations.
Final Verdict:
Book and movie are both fantastic in their own version. But overall, the book is still way better than the movie!
Have you read “Divergent” or seen the movie? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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