The Hunger Games Wannabe Sci-Fi Dystopia Lands on Netflix, 10 Years Later
Here comes another take on our darkest future.
After the Harry Potter franchise concluded in 2011, the filmmakers attempted to fill the young adult movie niche. The new fashion of the 2010s became a series of teen dystopian movies, headed by The Hunger Games that was a huge success back in 2012.
Based on Suzanne Collins’ novels, it set the bar quite high for similar movie adaptations, however, the subsequent big screen versions of the hyped bestsellers clearly lacked its wholesomeness. These include the 2014 sci-fi action flick that followed in THG’s footsteps.
Set in post-apocalyptic America, the movie centers on Tris, a 16-year-old girl whose fate is about to be decided. The point is the new dystopian society is divided into four factions based on human virtues: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite.
Born and raised as a member of Abnegation, Tris should choose which faction is going to be her new home, but before that she is warned that she is a person who combines equal attributes of all four factions. The government passionately fights against such individuals, as they are claimed to threaten the existing social order.
Even though this movie was praised for its well-choreographed action sequences and acting performances, it was panned for poor world-building and character development. It can be related to the quality of its book source, Veronica Roth’s novels.
Nevertheless, this sci-fi film presented quite a curious version of the dystopian future with a system of factions that was really mind-bending at the time. Alongside that year’s The Maze Runner, it was the main science fiction sensation not only for teens, but for all people interested in new movies.
You can already guess that we’re talking about Divergent, starring Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies) and Theo James (The Gentlemen ). It was so successful that it grossed $288.9 million against a budget of $85 million.
If you enjoy The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner movie series but for some reason missed out on Divergent, here is good news for you. Netflix is going to add the whole trilogy, which also includes two sequels: Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016). It’d be a good binge-watching choice for all science fiction lovers.
Give Divergent a try, as it’ll be available on Netflix on June 1.