*This is merely an opinion piece. You can have an entirely different opinion from mine. I will respect others' opinions, if you respect mine. I mean after all, we all have opinions and if anything sounds slanderous, I did not mean to make it sound so.
As many of you know, 'Divergent' came out yesterday and probably have seen some pretty nifty trailers for the movie.
As the title of this blog implies, I am actually really nervous to see this movie because it is a book-to-movie adaption much like beloved books such as "The Lord of the Rings," "Harry Potter," "The Hunger Games," and numerous others I could list. I love to read and sometimes I get all to excited to see a movie of my favorite book(s). Unfortunately, again, I am afraid of seeing 'Divergent' and there are also reasons I want to see it, too, so as not to make this an incredibly negative post.
I really have two reasons I don't want to see it, so we will start off with the reasons I am not thrilled in seeing this movie:
Reason #1: Shailene Woodley is a hypocrite.
Most people do not know that Ms. Woodley auditioned for the role of Katniss Everdeen who is the main character of "The Hunger Games" trilogy. She reportedly wanted the role badly, but it ultimately went to Jennifer Lawrence.
I guess that would make most actresses bitter because it is a very iconic role, not that Tris Prior (whom Woodley plays in 'Divergent') isn't. In an interview, she was asked to talk about "The Hunger Games" versus "Divergent." She claimed, bitterly, that all "The Hunger Games" is all about is the "love triangle" between Gale, Katniss, and Peeta. Also that Katniss always has to be saved by one of the male characters and completely overlooking the other details of the trilogy.
I understand that it might be a marketing scheme or whatever it is, but that does not make what Ms. Woodley, in a nutshell, had said. For the most part, it is really like comparing apples and oranges. "The Hunger Games" trilogy and the "Divergent" trilogy are their own things. In reality, the only similarities of the books is that they are for young adults set in a dystopian future, they have romance in them (regardless of any love triangles), and much like Katniss and Peeta help each other, Tris and Four more or less do the same thing. Otherwise, they are completely different.
I think she is a decent actress, but I don't want to watch a movie where someone seems bitter and it outshines the character being played.
Reason #2: Book-to-Movie Adaptations make me really nervous.
Again, I am a big fan of books. I can read and read and read all day if I could. The thing is: people in Hollywood want to make such books into movies.
For example such books as: "A Series of Unfortunate Events 1-3," "Eragon," and "Percy Jackson 1-2." Excellent books, but really horrible movies.
But, in my opinion such books as "The Lord of the Rings," "Harry Potter," and "The Hunger Games," were excellent books and were turned into really wonderful movies. (I do admit to my bias on this three series.)
I guess it really does come down to the director and the script writers, but it does not make my fear any better. I was even worried about "The Hunger Games" when it came out a couple years ago and even "Harry Potter."
I also worry that the true translation of the writer's books might be lost due to the casting of the characters. In the trailers for 'Divergent,' Tris just comes off as really bitter and harsh. Whereas in the book, Tris slowly becomes hardened by her society, but still retains her relatively sweet personality. Also in the trailers, Four comes off as a complete hard-ass without that touch of sweetness he is supposed to have. In the book, he is a hard-ass, but it is merely a facade and is in reality a sweet guy and wants to really help Tris because she is like him, being Divergent (or not really belonging to one category in their society). I know it really is just the trailers, but they do have me worried and nitpicky.
Much like the negative reasons, there are two reasons for wanting to see it:
Reason #1: Theo James' CGI'ed tattoos (also he is majorly good-looking) and other effects.
I am one of those people that will go see a movie because of the visual effects and how such effects make the movie come to life (the same goes with the film's music).
Aside from Theo, who plays Four, being a pretty good actor and is fairly good-looking, there is a part in the books that really gives depth to his character as Four. The part where he reveals to Tris, that apart from him being Divergent, his reasoning behind wanting to have the qualities of all five Factions of their society, which consists of: Amity (Kindness), Abnegation (Selflessness), Dauntless (Bravery), Erudite (Intelligence), and Candor (Honesty).
Such things in books, and some movies, reveal great vulnerability in the characters. When Tris sees that he had tattooed (a big part of being Dauntless is getting and having tattoos) the symbols of the Factions down his spine, she notices that it is a huge thing for him to be revealing such a secret to her and the passion that he has to be true to himself (as cliche as that sounds).
Reason #2: It is something completely different than most compelling stories are.
This may seem incredibly obvious to most people, but there is something that really makes "Divergent" great aside from the storyline. But it really is about the characters that make the storyline come to life. Tris, Four, Christina (Tris' best friend in the story), really bring this whole story together.
It is also a theme of not knowing where you belong and being forced to make a choice in where you think you belong. That is what makes this trilogy so relateable because when we all grew up we never truly belonged and tried finding our place. Being Divergent in this society meant you were weird and even some of these kids and adults who were Divergent were killed off because they "threatened the system." It is what is called "pigeonholing," being stuck into a category because of stereotypical traits one might have. That is what these books try to fight against because we are all unique in a special way that could threaten an already fragile system.
Really, this has been on my mind for the last year. I just finally decided to put my thoughts down. I might go see it once the crowds die down, so I can see for myself because like book covers, I know you shouldn't judge a movie by its trailer.
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