By Abby Del Vecchio

Veronica Roth’s series of a dystopian Chicago, “Divergent,” has had young adults anxiously awaiting the release of the film.

The film centers on a young woman, Tris (Shailene Woodley), who is forced to make the decision to leave her family in search of finding herself.  The world Tris lives in has split Chicago into five different factions: Abnegation, the selfless; Amity, the peaceful; Candor, the honest; Erudite, the intelligent; and Dauntless, the brave. At the age of 16, the citizens must make the decision to stay with the faction they were born into, or to choose a new division. After discovering she is more than just selfless, Tris makes the decision to move to Dauntless. Having more than one of these traits makes her a threat to the government because she is divergent and she does not fit into just one faction.

Tris and the other Dauntless initiates have to undergo a series of physical and mental tests, conducted by Four (Theo James) and Eric (Jai Courtney), before they are considered Dauntless. After being admitted into Dauntless, Tris, with the help of Four, must fight Erudite’s corrupt leader Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) who is trying to take over the government.

Dystopian films and books have become increasingly popular, with “The Hunger Games” starting the trend.  Dystopia based stories are typically set in an undesirable future.  As a child growing up, the future is almost always consisting of flying cars and robots, which is the opposite of the divergent world, because of the ruined city.

The movie, as predicted, had several major and minor differences from the book. Differences between the book and the movie often have negative effects on fans of the series and a common disappointment with the film was the ending. Because of the differences with the book, true fans may have been displeased with the directors attempt to add Kate Winslet in the film as much as possible.

Despite the differences, “Divergent” is fulfilled expectations thanks to a great cast and an exceptional story. Shailene Woodley and Theo James were strong leads and were able to carry out the film, despite both of their limited acting roles.