You may be inclined to immediately compare “Divergent” to another hugely successful young adult franchise, that of the Jennifer Lawrence-led “Hunger Games.” Both series feature a lead female protagonist, are set in a dystopian future, and contain a strong, overpowering central government. Yet, “Divergent,” written by Veronica Roth, deserves to be seen as its own work as well. The film version may be missing some of the inspired elements of the novel. But there is just enough potential here that I am optimistic for the series as a whole.

In the future world of “Divergent,” society has been split into different factions, which determine how a person will live their life. There are five groups, each of which value one distinctive trait: the Abnegation, who value selflessness; the Erudite, who value knowledge; the Dauntless, who value bravery; the Candor, who value honesty; and the Amity, who value kindness. Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) is a girl that grew up as Abnegation, yet once she turns 16, chooses to live out her life as Dauntless. The majority of the film focuses on her trials within that group, and at the same time of a growing plot within the Erudite against the other factions.

A great deal of time in the novel is spent on the growing camaraderie among the Dauntless community, especially with Beatrice (now known as Tris) and her group of friends, that of Christina (Zoe Kravitz), Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), and Al (Christian Madsen). Such description makes the loss of one of them just that much more devastating. Much of this is absent in the film, though, to the point that it’s hard to remember individual names of characters. That being said, the casting for “Divergent” is near-perfect. 

From Ashley Judd as Tris’s mother, to Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews, the leader of the Erudite, to Zoe Kravitz as Christina; the characters look and feel almost exactly as I had pictured them. And it is the two central leads that really steal the film: that of Shailene Woodley as Tris and Theo James as Four. Woodley is mousy, yet confident, an inwardly strong and forceful personality which seems at odds with her tiny appearance. And James is pure manliness, all scowl and muscle and confidence, yet with a sentimental side as well. Their dialogue isn’t always too interesting, but the chemistry between the two lights up the screen. It is here that “Divergent” is most successful, which is hopeful since this relationship forms the main backbone of the series.

With a climactic shooting battle scene at the close of the film, “Divergent” ends on an adrenaline high. It is (almost) enough to make you forget the drowsy middle scenes. Or the loss of characters that we didn’t have enough time to care about. But by the time the credits roll, it will most likely have you readily anticipating the next film in the series. And that, to me, isn’t a total loss.