Divergent

Full disclosure, I loved this book series. I love the idea of social class based on the focus a society should take. And I love science fiction that puts you in a world so crazy that you can look at the ideas presented and consider them on their own merits, without consideration for current reality. Tris and her brother Caleb are at the age where they take "the test" to determine their faction placement. Tris finds that she is divergent. That is, she does not have an aptitude for one particular class. As a result, she is an explicit danger to the social structure of factions. With this foundation, Tris chooses the Dauntless faction (the courageous warrior class) and is initiated into their ranks. Follow up with initiation, isolation, friend making, self discovery, boyfriend finding, authority angering, and heroic actions to fill out the story. The film does a great job of visualizing future "post-war" Chicago, and holds together well on its own without needing the book as reference (unlike some of the Harry Potter films). Some of my favorite things: wind turbines stuck to buildings, the emptied Lake Michigan, low-tolerance zip lines, and fluorescent capture-the-flag flags. What would I have done differently? The tattoo application process was lame. If that is all you have to do, even the Amity would have inked up bodies...
4 stars (out of 5)