When we last left our divergent heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley), in the crumbling dystopian remains of Chicago 100 or so years from now, she had handily disposed of ruthless Erudite leader Jeanine (think a smarter Donald Trump in a skirt) in 2015's The Divergent Series: Insurgent. More determined than ever to discover what lies beyond the high and electrified wall (see: Trump) surrounding the city, Tris gathers a small team including love-interest Four (the ridiculously hot Theo James), repentant brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), diabolical Peter (Miles Teller), and petite but powerful Christina (Zoe Kravitz) and begins her journey in The Divergent Series: Allegiant (Summit).
Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Four's mother Evelyn (Naomi Watts) who has become the de facto leader, attempting to share power with Allegiant head Johanna (Octavia Spencer), is not only unhappy that he has left with Tris, but also must deal with the rising tide of anger in the city (doesn't seem like much has changed in the future Chicago). However, as Tris finds out when she meets with purity-obsessed David (Jeff Daniels), the man who governs the futuristic city in which the Bureau of Genetic Welfare operates, not everything is as it appears. As usual difficult choices, including the wrong ones, must be made, as allegiances are formed and broken.
The special effects in The Divergent Series: Allegiant alternate between being cool and clever or downright laughable. You be the judge when it comes to the orange memory erasing serum fog. The energy level is at its lowest here, which contributes to the trouble. If you're not thrilled with this installment (and it's easy not to be), consider it to be a placeholder for the next chapter in the series, The Divergent Series: Ascendant, due to hit your local multiplex in June of 2017.
Screen Savor: Dystopia and that ‘topia
Fri. March 18, 2016 12:00 AM
by Gregg Shapiro
As we've witnessed, two-part movie series finales don't usually fare so well. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the best of the lot (and the best of the Potters), while The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 is the worst (and the worst of the Twilights). In the case of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (Lionsgate), it falls squarely in the middle.
Bruised and battered, the Mockingjay Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is more determined than ever to complete her personal mission to kill the ruthless ruler, Panem President Snow (Donald Sutherland). With the blessing of rebel leader President Coin (Julianne Moore), Katniss is off and running with her new squad of survivors including Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin), Pollux (Elden Henson), Cressida (Natalie Dormer), Boggs (Mahershala Ali), Jackson (Michelle Forbes), a severely damaged Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) among others.
Snow, in declining health, keeps tabs on Katniss and her crew, as they survive well-armed peacekeepers, a minefield of killer pods and mutant lizards in underground tunnels. As the squad body count rises in what is essentially the 76th Hunger Games, Katniss helps Peeta recover as she illustrates what is real and what is not real following his brainwashing ordeal at the hands of Snow, confirming who it is that our heroine will end up with at the conclusion of the story.
To its credit, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 doesn't go easy on the heart-pounding suspense. It also ups the ante in terms of violence. The brutal massacre of the residents of the Capitol is one such example. In the end, it's funny how director Francis Lawrence wound up helming both the most (Catching Fire) and least enduring films in The Hunger Games series. The more than five hours worth of Blu-ray+DVD+Digital HD bonus features includes an eight-part doc about the making of the final film, audio commentary by director Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson and much more.