6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The sequel to the 2014 movie Divergent, where Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart.
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Octavia Spencer, Jai Courtney, Ray StevensonAdventure | 100% |
Action | 92% |
Sci-Fi | 61% |
Teen | 28% |
Romance | 17% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Let’s be honest: will so-called “young adults” ever even look away from their computer monitors or up from their hand held devices to notice that there’s an Apocalypse going on? As the father of two personal electronics obsessed teenagers, my unwavering answer is no (and maybe even hell, no). The “YA” market is awash in dystopian dramas, from the adventures of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games to the labyrinth scaling of Thomas in The Maze Runner, making a lot of the Divergent franchise seem repetitive, derivative and frankly a bit on the lackluster side. Insurgent picks up more or less right where Divergent left off, with the “faction” system of a dystopian future Chicago (or what’s left of it, anyway) crumbling from within, courtesy of the machinations of power mad Jeanine Mathews (Kate Winslet). Beatrice (“Tris”) Prior (Shailene Woodley), her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), Four (Theo James) and Peter Hayes (Miles Teller) are holed up in the Amity faction, even as Jeanine broadcasts an unabashedly duplicitous formal public statement distancing herself from the melée which capped Divergent, blaming it on rogue Dauntless activists, which of course include Tris and her cohorts. Jeanine is obsessed with a totemic artifact that acolyte Eric Coulter (Jai Courtney) discovers in the shambles of the Abnegation attack, a “Macguffin” of sorts that propels the overly circuitous plot of Insurgent forward, albeit with a number of detours along the way. Insurgent veers off into something akin to virtual reality territory as it moves along, even including a VR analogue to that old wives’ tale that if you die in a dream, you’ll die in “real life” as well.
Insurgent is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and Summit Entertainment with AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded 1080p
transfers in 2.40:1. The IMDb lists several digital cameras which were utilized for the production, including the Arri Alexa, the Phantom Flex4K and
the Red Scarlet. The result is nonetheless completely homogeneous looking, with a typically sharp and often superbly well defined image.
Perhaps surprisingly, Insurgent has not been color graded to within an inch of its dystopian future action film life, with large
swaths of the outing offering a very natural and attractive looking palette, one which pops vividly and which offers a glut of excellent fine detail.
There are some notable exceptions, with typical blue tints added to some sequences, and a buttery yellow ambience in others, two
choices which can minimally reduce detail at times. The first
longish sequence in the factionless "headquarters" is rather dark and struggles at times to provide really well defined shadow detail. There are
one or two very brief moments of image instability, including some passing judder (watch early in the film as the camera pans across a kid
swinging in the Amity compound). CGI is generally excellently sharp throughout the film, especially in some of the virtual reality sequences which
make up the bulk of the second and third acts. Contrast and black levels are both solid and consistent throughout the presentation.
The fact that Divergent was not released in 3D and (according
to some reports at least) Insurgent was a last minute candidate for 3D conversion may indicate why this film never really pushes the
envelope in terms of complete visual immersion. Sure, there are occasional gimmicky moments like a flock of (obviously CGI) crows flying straight
at the viewer, but a lot of Insurgent offers only moderate depth within the frame, often accomplished by foreground placement of
things like trees or remnants of buildings in the shattered ruins of Chicago. A lot of the film plays out in shadowy or darkened environments,
approaches which don't lend themselves to overwhelming dimensionality and depth. Some of the virtual reality sequences offer some good
effects, especially as Tris has to maraud her way through various almost hallucinogenic environments to accomplish various goals.
Note: PS3 owners (as I am) will experience the same inability to watch a 3D film with a lossless Dolby Atmos and/or core Dolby TrueHD
track as has been the case on several previous releases. The 3D disc will default to a standard lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track if played with a PS3.
Insurgent is the latest Blu-ray release to feature a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, which many (if not most) receivers will decode as a Dolby
TrueHD 7.1 track. This is an incredibly forceful and vivid sounding track, one which is rife with discrete channel placement of sound effects, and an
at times almost overwhelming use of LFE, both in terms of effects and the brooding lower ranges of Joseph Trapanese's score. The film offers
excellent spaciousness in its quieter moments, with good representations of ambient environmental sounds. When all hell breaks loose, as it
does at several junctures, the track becomes busy with explosive bursts of everything from gunfire to the destructive trampling of military
vehicles marauding through various environments. The virtual reality sequences offer some of the best overall immersion, especially a great
sequence involving Tris trying to rescue her mother (Ashley Judd) from a flying compartment that's on fire. A later showdown with Jeanine
provides some rippling panning effects when "reality" seems to be crumbling like a jigsaw puzzle that can't quite keep it together. Fidelity is top
notch and dynamic range extremely wide on this problem free track.
All of the supplements are included on the 2D version of the film.
- Building a Bigger World
- Creating the Big Screen Experience
- Exploring the Factionless
- From Factionless to Candor
- A New Landscape of Weapons and Stunts
- Composers and Simulators
- A Fight to the Finish
- Sneak Peek (1080p; 2:45)
- Sneak Peek Presented by Shailene Woodley (1080p; 1:25)
- In Theater Promotional Making Of (1080p; 1:33)
- HBO First Look (1080p; 12:38)
- Theatrical Trailer 1 (1080p; 1:07)
- Theatrical Trailer 2 (1080p; 2:34)
- Theatrical Trailer 3 (1080p; 1:11)
- Theatrical Trailer 4 (1080p; 1:12)
- Theatrical Trailer 5 (1080p; 1:10)
- Image Gallery (1080p)
- Animated Character Portraits:
- Shailene Woodley (1080i; 00:19)
- Theo James (1080i; 00:19)
- Kate Winslet (1080i; 00:19)
- Octavia Spencer (1080i; 00:19)
- Naomi Watts (1080i; 00:17)
Insurgent lumbers along, ticking off plot points at will in an obvious attempt to move the story along to the point where the real good stuff can start. There's not one putative "twist" in this entry that any decent movie lover is not going to guess miles before it's actually revealed, but the film at least offers some spectacular set pieces and good performanes from Woodley, Winslet and Watts. The whole Divergent franchise has seemed like a knockoff of better known and just plain better fare, and that perception is only reinforced with this fitfully engaging but overall kind of tired entry. Technical merits are generally incredibly strong, and the supplemental package well stocked, so with caveats noted, Insurgent as an overall Blu-ray release (if not as an actual film) comes Recommended.
The Divergent Series
2015
The Divergent Series
2015
The Divergent Series / Bonus Disc
2015
The Divergent Series
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The Divergent Series
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The Divergent Series
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The Divergent Series
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The Divergent Series
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Special Edition
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