|
Out in U.S. theaters on Friday, "Allegiant" is the first of a
two-part finale to the "Divergent" franchise. It is set in a
post-apocalyptic Chicago where society is divided into five
factions based on people's personalities; wisdom, honesty,
selflessness, kindness and bravery.
The films are based on Veronica Roth's trilogy of novels.
The events of "Divergent" and "Insurgent" have led to civil war.
In "Allegiant," two female leaders battle to govern the city
while Tris (Shailene Woodley) leads a small group of friends
outside their gated world.
Amid destroyed lands, they discover an organization with a
chilling agenda, that established Chicago as an experiment to
find someone who is "pure," with attributes of all five
factions.
For Woodley, the character of Tris, an innocent teenager forced
to harden up both physically and emotionally, joins a growing
roster of strong female roles in film.
"You see Halle Berry and Ashley Judd kicking ass back in the day
but it's really nice to still see that train rolling and to see
that there is more, more and more strong women out there in
films," the 24-year-old actress told Reuters.
Woodley added that the "Divergent" films, which also star Theo
James, Miles Teller, Zoe Kravitz, Naomi Watts and Octavia
Spencer, presented an equality between young men and women
fighting for freedom.
"It's not males are leading and the females are being suppressed
or the females are leading and the males are being suppressed,"
she said.
"There's equality between the kingdom and the queendom and I
think that's all that needs to happen in our modern world."
The "Divergent" films follow the young adult hit franchises
"Twilight" and "The Hunger Games," both also adapted from young
adult novels and huge hits at the worldwide box office.
Five "Twilight" films took in $3.3 billion, while four "Hunger
Games" films took in nearly $3 billion.
The "Divergent" films have so far grossed more than $500 million
worldwide. While "Allegiant" received an unfavorable 36 percent
rating on reviews aggregator Metacritic.com, the series does
have avid fans.
"Ultimately I think we make these movies for selfish reasons for
ourselves - just to be actors and artists to be able to express.
But when people receive them, there is something very
gratifying," Woodley said.
(Additional reporting by Alicia Powell for Reuters TV; Editing
by David Gregorio)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
'Divergent'
heroine seeks answers as society crumbles in 'Allegiant'
