The Divergent Series: Allegiant

The third instalment in Veronica Roth’s literary trilogy sees Tris Prior finally escape the confines of a post-apocalyptic Chicago.

Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) enjoys her decontamination pod in Robert Schwentke's visually inventive ride

You just can’t keep a dystopian franchise down. Now that The Hunger Games has completed its box-office feast with a global take of over $2.9 billion, The Divergent Series is kicking into high gear with its most satisfying episode yet. Like every series these days, the final chapter has been cleaved into box-office-friendly halves, leaving (hopefully) young adult audiences salivating for more. Here, the third instalment adapted from Veronica Roth’s literary trilogy opens out nicely as the maverick heroine Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) leads her nearest and dearest out of the claustrophobic remains of a post-apocalyptic Chicago. What follows explains a lot and introduces the audience to a whole new set of rules and characters, providing a neat parallel to the infinitely superior Elysium (2013).

Still, the effects are actually very effective and the look is the thing. There’s even an opportunity for a bit of acting, a duty that Jeff Daniels fills very nicely, balancing the varying nuances of his character with menacing subtlety. The testosteronic interest is well provided by the Oxford-born Theo James, whose American accent is as flawless as his physique, while the action sequences are well handled. But it’s the tasty CGI and the nifty segues into virtual reality that are the most winning elements in a narrative that continues to suffer from comparisons to The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. One still doesn’t give a hoot for the characters – sorry, but Shailene Woodley is no Jennifer Lawrence – but there’s enough intrigue and cool gadgets to keep undemanding sci-fi fanatics happy until the arrival of Maze Runner: The Death Cure next year.

JAMES CAMERON-WILSON

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Octavia Spencer, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Bill Skarsgård, Naomi Watts, Jonny Weston, Xander Berkeley, Rebecca Pidgeon.

Dir Robert Schwentke, Pro Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher and Pouya Shabazian, Ex Pro Neil Burger, Screenplay Noah Oppenheim, Adam Cooper, Bill Collage and Stephen Chbosky, Ph Florian Ballhaus, Pro Des Alec Hammond, Ed Stuart Levy, Music Joseph Trapanese, Costumes Marlene Stewart.

Red Wagon Entertainment/Lionsgate/Mandeville Films-Entertainment One.
120 mins. USA. 2016. Rel: 10 March 2016. Cert. 12A.