[dropcap size=big]W[/dropcap]orking Author reviewed Divergent earlier this year and considered the film to be average entertainment that would resonate with younger audiences – mainly teen girls. After a second viewing at home, our opinion hasn’t changed. Check out the full review of Divergent for our opinion of the film.
To recap the plot, Divergent takes place in the near future after a devastating war has corralled a small pocket of survivors into the ruins of Chicago. In this new society, five factions were created to categorize the populace. Each faction represents a particular strong trait, like intelligence, selflessness, fearlessness and so on. Tris (Shailene Woodley) discovers that she doesn’t identify strongly with any one faction, making her a Divergent, which also makes her feared in certain circles, because she can’t be controlled. As such, Tris becomes a prime target when factions begin making political power plays.
For fans of the film and collectors alike, Divergent is now available on home video in all of the standard formats: Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Eager customers can have all three in one tight package by picking up the Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD version. Not only are all three formats included in the bundle, but purchasers will also receive a “Temporary Tattoos” insert, which will allow fans to temporarily mark themselves with the symbol of their favorite faction from the film. There’s also a temporary tattoo of the birds that Tris gets for herself in the film.
The collection is also packed with a lot of extra content, but not all of it is necessarily valuable. There are two additional, separate audio tracks – one with director Neil Burger and a second one with producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher. Sadly, there are no tracks with the stars of the film, which will no doubt disappoint young fans.
There is, however, a comprehensive documentary of the making of the film, which covers everything from fight training to post production visual work, broken up into small, easily digestible segments. This addition is a nice treat for Divergent fans and people who have a general interest in filmmaking. It’s interesting to see and hear how the actors bring fresh insight to their characters and how that affects their performances. It’s also awe inspiring to see how much work actually goes into making a film, especially when set decorators transform a popular amusement park or an abandoned factory into a set that matches the book.
One extra feature that is exclusive to the Blu-ray is the Faction Before Blood featurette, which offers interviews with cast members and filmmakers where they talk about elements in the book. It’s a fine featurette in and of itself, but it’s also largely redundant content for anyone who’s seen the film, because the interview subjects are just recapping what happens in the movie.
The deleted scenes are also disappointing. Not only do they not provide any special perspective into the events of the film, but they are so short that they seem less like deleted scenes and more like scene trimmings that were cut for time. This might appeal to the most die-hard fans, but it won’t be a selling point to anyone else.
Finally, there’s a music video for Ellie Goulding’s Beating Heart, which features a Divergent-themed motif as well as clips from the film. It’s not her best song, but it’s pleasant enough.
The Divergent Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD Ultraviolet collection feels a little perfunctory, but given the amount of extra content it provides, it’s hard to say that buyers won’t be getting their money’s worth. So fans who want to own a copy of Divergent can’t go wrong with this version. It has everything a collector could want and some other stuff as well.