Divergent (2014)

Divergent is what happens when a personality quiz gets a movie deal and a train budget. The whole society sorts people into clubs by a single virtue, and then the movie acts shocked that a teenager could be more than one thing. Every teenager is more than one thing. That’s the joke the movie never gets. Shailene Woodley is better than the material, giving Tris real nerves under the tough act, and Theo James mostly broods near railings. The training scenes are the fun part: zip lines, leaping onto moving trains, sparring in a pit. Then the plot shows up and it’s a lot of serious people saying the word Divergent like it’s a curse. At 139 minutes it drags hard. Kate Winslet is wasted as a villain in a pantsuit. A 4.4 because the cast tries and the world falls apart the second you think about it. $614 says you take a faction quiz online before the credits roll and land in the boring one.

What works: Shailene Woodley gives Tris real nerves under the tough act, and the Dauntless training scenes, zip line included, are a good time.

What doesn’t: The faction system falls apart the moment you think about it, and at 139 minutes the second half drags badly.

Who it’s for: Teens who loved the books and anyone who wants a young adult dystopia with plenty of train jumping.