Review: Woodley cannot save ‘Allegiant’ from systemic story & character problems

Posted on March 25, 2016

With each year bringing additional young adult book series to the cinematic screen–and so few of them actually working–I was pleasantly surprised in 2014 when I saw “Divergent,” the adaptation of the first novel in Veronica Roth’s best-selling series. Although the film had some story issues, a very strong performance from Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants”) as Triss Prior, who was in turn a very compelling character, easily overcame the defects found elsewhere.

Then last year we had “Insurgent,” an adaptation of the second novel in the series, and while Woodley continued to shine, the story problems remained and became harder to ignore with definite cracks surfacing in the story’s foundation, which coupled with a less compelling character arc compared to the first film, left “Insurgent” feeling very thin by the end.

I said in my review of “Insurgent” that it did not live up to the promise of “Divergent,” but if you had enjoyed the first film, it was still worth watching thanks mostly to Woodley and I was still looking forward to seeing what happens next to the characters, although I wouldn’t be awaiting the third installment with the same anticipation I had for “Insurgent.” I consider that rather fortunate, because “Allegiant,” the third film in a four-installment franchise, is the weakest yet, providing almost no character development and a series of new plot threads with each making less sense than the last as we trudge toward an anticlimactic and entirely illogical ending.

Speaking of the abrupt ending, the film could possibly be forgiven since although this installment is called “Allegiant,” it’s only the first half of its namesake book, with the second half scheduled to arrive next summer.

Whether the split is at fault or not, the story in “Allegiant” is a laughable mess, with almost no plot development or character decision making much, if any, sense upon even cursory reflection, and even less after a day or two to think about it.

This is a series that started out with some serious promise, but that promise has been left unfulfilled and I don’t see how the fourth film will be able to recover.

The film is rated PG-13 for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some partial nudity.

(This is a abbreviated version of the full review available in our printed or e-edition papers.)

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