{"id":12379,"date":"2016-07-10T08:29:32","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T15:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=12379"},"modified":"2016-07-10T09:00:36","modified_gmt":"2016-07-10T16:00:36","slug":"review-divergent-uhd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2016\/07\/review-divergent-uhd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Divergent 4K UHD"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Divergent<\/em><\/strong> is what I\u2019d like to call a \u2018nice\u2019 movie. There\u2019s nothing here terrible offensive but at the same time, it doesn\u2019t break new ground either. The direction is more than adequate and the performance by Shailene Woodley is strong. But for all the good, the story structure is odd.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Divergent<\/span>
\n(2014)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Science Fiction, Action, Suspense\/Thriller
\nSummit | PG13 \u2013 139 min. \u2013 $22.99 | July 12, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 07\/10\/2016 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/td>\n		\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/u>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Neil Burger
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Veronica Roth (novel); Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Angel Elgort, Maggie Q<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/u>DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>2 Audio Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Trailers & TV Spots
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats: <\/strong>UHD, Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS:X), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>2160p\/Widescreen 2.39
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>NA
\nCodec: <\/strong>HEVC\/H.265
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A (no other regions tested)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

THE MOVIE \u2014 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

Note: This review contains major spoilers concerning the plot. Please skip this section if you don\u2019t want to learn details about the plot.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note #2: This review was copied from my original review written back in 2014 and updated for the UHD release.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Courtesy of the Twilight Saga<\/em>, also from Summit, every studio seemingly snatched up any available Young Adult property in the hopes of finding the same (financial) success. Summit struck gold again with The Hunger Games<\/em> ($1.55 BILLION worldwide total between the two HG<\/em> films). And now they\u2019ve return back to the well in the hopes that some oil can be drilled. The output is Divergent<\/em><\/strong>, a film based on the \u201cWorldwide Bestseller\u201d and although it\u2019s not bad, it should\u2019ve and had the opportunity to be so much better.<\/p>\n

Our story begins in an undetermined despotic future in Chicago where the outside world is scorched earth due to some world war and inside the city citizens are broken up into what are called factions: Abnegation (Selfless), Erudite (Intelligent), Dauntless (Brave), Amity (Peaceful) and Candor (Honest). If you don\u2019t belong to any one of these, you are considered \u201cFactionless\u201d, people who did not complete their initiations into the faction and are more or less cast out to fend for themselves doing the work others won\u2019t do (i.e. janitors, constructions workers, etc.) and in exchange receive the basic necessities to live. Although this aptitude test may put them in a faction, it is up to the individual to choose and once it\u2019s made, in what\u2019s aptly called the \u201cChoosing Ceremony\u201d, there\u2019s no going back.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And then there are those who don\u2019t fit any and yet every category: Divergent. Upon taking test, administered by a woman named Tori (MAGGIE Q), our main character, Beatrice Prior (SHAILENE WOODLEY), is given sage advice to not tell anyone and shoves her out the back door.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, there is also political (faction) turmoil going on as the Abnegation, to which Beatrice and her family belongs, with her father (TONY GOLDWYN) working closely with the faction leader (RAY STEVENSON) and mother (ASHLEY JUDD) handling the household duties along with the daily routine of helping the factionless as prescribed to the Abnegation faction. She also has a twin brother, Caleb (ANSEL ELGORT), who chose to. However, it is believed someone within the Erudite faction is spreading nasty rumors about the Abnegation leader, though it\u2019s not hard to guess that it\u2019s in fact faction leader Jeanine Matthews (KATE WINSLET).<\/p>\n

At the Choosing Ceremony, despite being thought of to choose her family\u2019s tradition and go with Abnegation, she instead goes with Dauntless, a faction she has admired all her life. Now the real work begins as the Dauntless are, of course, known for being fearless so she first has to jump from a moving monorail to a rooftop, on said rooftop, where she meets the incredulous Dauntless leader Eric (JAI COURTNEY), must then jump off a ledge down a dark hole to a waiting net at the bottom. Being the first one to volunteer, she also gets introduced to who we know will be the love interest, Four (THEO JAMES), faction transfer instructor. At this point, she also is given the chance to change her name to which she chooses \u201cTris\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So begins the strenuous training where she bonds with a Candor named Christina (ZOE KRAVITZ), while also butting heads with our resident jackass, Peter (MILES TELLER), who looks down on Tris\u2019s kind (the Abnegation nicknamed \u201cStiffs\u201d). As she struggles with the training, and with the Dauntless keeping only some of the transfers which would leave the rest factionless, she also learns that somebody is hunting down the Divergent kind for their independent thinking so she must tread lightly not being able to trust anyone.<\/p>\n

Obviously as an audience member, even those who have never read the books, knows where the story is going especially when it comes to Four with his reveal quite a bit later in the film…<\/p>\n

So, where does Divergent<\/em><\/strong> stand compared with the numerous other Young Adult adaptations? Well, perhaps not quite as good as The Hunger Games<\/em> (Catching Fire<\/em> especially), but it\u2019s far better than anything the Twilight Saga<\/em> brought in just about every category and despite some issues with the story structure where the training part took up the bulk of the film and the main plot, involving drone soldiers killing innocents, seems like merely a minor plot point quickly, and relatively easily, resolved at the end.<\/p>\n

Still, this is an enjoyable and entertaining flick thanks in no small part to the casting of Shailene Woodley who is Hollywood\u2019s \u201cIt Girl\u201d starring in other high profile projects including The Fault in Our Stars<\/em>. In Divergent<\/em><\/strong> she has amazing screen presence and in conjunction with some good on-screen chemistry with Theo James (of \u201cDownton Abbey\u201d fame), it makes one ignore any issues with the plot.<\/p>\n

Aside from Woodley and James, the film does sport an impressive array of supporting actors from Kate Winslet, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd and Ray Stevenson, all of whom parts are fairly limited \u2014 though with Winslet her role should expand with each sequel \u2014, to young on-the-rise talents such as Zo\u00eb Kravitz (daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now<\/em>), Ansel Elgort (Carrie<\/em>) and the more experienced Jai Courtney playing a fine blowhard antagonist; and for his part, he\u2019s far better than in some of the drivel (looking at you A Good Day to Die Hard<\/em>!).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Divergent<\/em><\/strong> was helmed by Neil Burger who I suspect was a director-for-hire and for the most part, it\u2019s a perfectly adequate outing for the filmmaking presenting nice visuals (though the visual effects itself are a bit off) and moves the unusual story structure along at a brisk pace. Burger\u2019s filmography is interesting from the mundane (The Lucky Ones<\/em>) to downright incredible (The Illusionist<\/em> is still one of my favorites, unfortunately overshadowed by The Prestige<\/em>) and although this won\u2019t rank very high amongst his others, he serves as a fine fill-in to introduce this world.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

This release comes with a glossy slip cover<\/strong>. Inside the case is a retail Blu-ray Copy<\/u><\/strong> and a redemption code for the Digital Copy<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Audio Commentaries<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Two tracks are included: 1) Director Neil Berger and 2) Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher. Each of these provide different perspectives with Berger giving the filmmaking POV on how shots were filmed, working with the actors and such while the producers are mostly about translating the source material into feature film.<\/p>\n

Bringing Divergent<\/em> to Life (47:17; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a four-part behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling how the project came to life, has some interviews with the cast and crew and we get a look at some of the filmmaking process.<\/p>\n

Faction Before Blood (14:51; HD)<\/u><\/strong> looks at the different factions featured in the movie.<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes (4:27; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 These are a selection of scenes removed or trimmed most likely for pacing issues more than anything.<\/p>\n

Also included is a Music Video (3:48; HD)<\/u><\/strong> for \u201cBeating Heart\u201d by Ellie Goulding and a Marketing Gallery<\/u><\/strong> containing 2 Theatrical Trailers and a Poster Gallery.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

VIDEO \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Originally shot at 2K resolution, this UHD release of Divergent<\/em><\/strong> has been upconverted for 4K televisions and while it\u2019d be nice if this were native 4K, we still get a brilliant looking transfer. Colors are brilliant through and through and detail is sharp and well defined. Now, the golden question is: is this worth the upgrade cost? Probably not as the original Blu-ray already looked fantastic, but anyone new to buying this movie, it\u2019s worth the $10 surcharge.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

AUDIO \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

While the Blu-ray release already had an impressive 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, we get a minor upgrade to DTS: X. There\u2019s a tad more depth present with this track by comparison but it\u2019s negligible. Dialogue levels still sound crisp and clean but where the track comes to life is with the various action scenes not to mention Junkie XL\u2019s wonderful score (which I do own and is worth downloading).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

OVERALL \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Overall, Divergent<\/em><\/strong> is what I\u2019d like to call a \u2018nice\u2019 movie. There\u2019s nothing here terrible offensive but at the same time, it doesn\u2019t break new ground either. The direction is more than adequate and the performance by Shailene Woodley is strong. But for all the good, the story structure is odd with the bulk of the time relegated to the training with another plotline almost an afterthought taking over the third act. The UHD released through Lionsgate offers incredible video\/audio transfers and a fair number of features releases.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n