A lot of people thought the Divergent film series sort of fizzled out with the third movie in the franchise, Allegiant, but I thought it was ok. Maybe not as good as the first. Maybe not as good as The Hunger Games series. But still ok.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant arrived on Digital HD on June 21 and is headed to Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital HD), DVD (plus Digital), 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital HD), and On Demand on July 12 from Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment label.
Based on the YA book by Veronica Roth, “The Divergent Series: Allegiant” picks up shortly after the events of 2015’s “Insurgent.” Factionless leader Evelyn (Naomi Watts) is holding trials for Jeanine’s treasonous Erudite and Dauntless followers in front of bloodthirsty crowds straight out of “Thunderdome.”
One of those prisoners is Caleb (Ansel Elgort), who is the brother of our heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley). But before Caleb is executed, Tris, Four (Theo James), Christina (Zoe Kravitz), and Peter (Miles Teller) break him out and then scale the wall surrounding the apocalyptic city of Chicago.
Outside, they discover an invisible “camera wall,” and beyond that, an area controlled by the Bureau of Genetic Welfare. The Bureau’s leader, David (Jeff Daniels), and his employees reveal that Chicago’s Faction-based society is actually a generations-old experiment to see whether humanity’s “damaged” genes could heal themselves without genetic modification.
The Chicago experiment is monitored by the Bureau’s 24/7 surveillance systems that see everything. Tris is summoned to David’s “office” at the top of a glass-walled high rise, where he tells her that she is genetically “pure,” but the other Divergents, including Four, are “damaged.” David proceeds to conduct a series of studies on Tris, while a suspicious Four believes that David’s motives are less than honorable.
For moviegoers who’ve read the books, be forewarned that this installment of the franchise strays wildly from Veronica Roth’s book. While I still love the story and characters, “Allegiant” isn’t quite as engrossing as the previous movies, 2014’s “Divergent” and 2015’s “Insurgent.”
I love the scenes outside the wall, where we get to see David’s modernistic oasis in the midst of a barren apocalyptic landscape. There are also some cool bubble-like flying machines and intriguing special effects, especially when Tris and crew scale the massive wall.
But “Allegiant” doesn’t equal the similarly-themed (and better) “Hunger Games” franchise, even though both feature strong female characters, young romances and dystopian landscapes. For one thing, I miss Kate Winslet’s character, who provided a deliciously sinister foil for our heroes in the previous movies. And there’s not a lot of new character development in this movie.
There’s still one more “Divergent” move coming up – “Ascendant,” in theaters June 9, 2017. In that movie, Tris and Four fight to end the Bureau of Genetic Welfare’s authoritarian reign over the United States. I’ll be curious to see how the franchise ends, whether they follow the book a little closer, and if they can find enough material to fill up a whole movie.
The Blu-ray and Digital HD releases feature an in-depth look behind-the-scenes with six all-new featurettes plus audio commentary with producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher. The Blu-ray is encoded in Dolby TrueHD and features a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack, which delivers captivating sound that places and moves audio anywhere in the room, including overhead, to bring entertainment alive all around the audience. The Divergent Series: Allegiant will be available on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD for the suggested retail price of $42.99, $39.99 and $29.95, respectively.
If you need to catch up on the series, the first two installments, The Divergent Series: Divergent and The Divergent Series: Insurgent, will be available on 4K Ultra Combo pack on July 12 as well.
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT – BLU-RAY/ DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES
- Audio Commentary with Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher
Six Featurettes:
- Allegiant: Book to Film
- Battle in the Bullfrog: The Stunts and Choreography Behind This Thrilling Sequence
- Finding the Future: Effects & Technology
- Characters in Conflict: The Motivations Behind the Film’s Antagonists
- The Next Chapter: Cast & Characters
- Building the Bureau
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
- Audio Commentary with producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher
Two Featurettes:
- Allegiant: Book to Film
- Battle in the Bullfrog: The Stunts and Choreography Behind This Thrilling Sequence
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT – THE DEETS
- Year of Production: 2016
- Title Copyright: The Divergent Series: Allegiant © 2016, Artwork & Supplementary Materials TM & © 2016 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
- Type: Theatrical Release
- Rating: PG-13 for intense violence and action, thematic elements, and some partial nudity.
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Closed Captioned: NA
- Subtitles: English and Spanish, English SDH
- Feature Run Time: 121 minutes
- 4K UHD Format: 2160p High Definition 16×9 Widescreen (2.40)
- BD Format: 1080P 23.98 High Definition 16×9 Widescreen (2.40)
- DVD Format: 16×9 Widescreen (2.40:1)
- 4K UHD Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio Optimized for Late Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio
- BD Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio Optimized for Late Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio
- DVD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio
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