More action and twists make Insurgent better than Divergent

I'm coming late, but not too late, to the Divergent series having only seen the first film in preparation for the press screening earlier in the week. The plot of the first film basically tells us that a post-something future which has ruined the world sees its surviving humans divided into factions which are supposed to help society rebuild with everyone in their proper place.

The factions all have names like Abnegation (selflessness), Amity (peaceful and welcoming), Erudite (intelligent), Candor (honesty) and Dauntless (bravery). In a bit of plotting that's not quite explained, every citizen is tested to see which faction suits them best, but at a certain point during their teenage years there is a choosing ceremony where they get to decide which faction they want to belong to. Once you choose, you can never go back and if you don't fit in you become "factionless." Some people test with traits belonging to more than one faction, the Divergent, and they are seen as a great threat to society.

The new film Insurgent (or The Divergent Series: Insurgent … the title is presented on screen both ways) picks up some time after the events of the conclusion of Divergent with Tris (Shailene Woodley), her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), Peter (Miles Teller) and Dauntless leader Four (Theo James) hiding out with the Amitys until they can gather the rest of the Dauntless together and try to fight Jeanine (Kate Winslet) after she secretly starts a war with the Abnegations, fearing they are trying to take over rule from the Erudite.

Of course, there are many monkey-wrenches thrown into the plan when Four's mother, whom he believed was dead, shows up and offers to join him in the fight with her Factionless tribe. There's also a mysterious box which Jeanine has possession of, found buried in the family home of Tris, that only a 100% Divergent has the ability to open. One guess on who Jeanine needs. But is what she thinks is in the box going to help her cause or destroy everything she believes? (If you've read the books, you probably already know the answer to that question … and there is at least one more book/movie in the series).

I found Divergent to be an overly long origin story that had too many unanswered questions about this world, this society and who/why people are divided and why they can choose to go against their inborn faction. The sequel does amp up the action quite a bit, gives us some answers as to who came up with the factions idea, but has discarded the whole choosing thing as Tris, Four and their group have pretty much sent their society into a tizzy. There is action, betrayals and unlikely heroes by the time the second chapter ends, and of course it lays the groundwork for the next film (and hopefully they won't feel the need to divide it into two movies).

Woodley, James, Elgort, Teller and Winslet have all settled into their roles, but it's nice to see a little bit of shading as some of them begin to rethink what they're doing. Some flip, some don't and those make for some nice surprises. New additions to the cast include Octavia Spencer, who is woefully under-used as the Amity leader, and Naomi Watts, also under-used but will perhaps have a larger role in the next film. Bad guys Jai Courtney and Mekhi Phifer also return.

Robert Schwentke takes over the directorial reins from Neil Burger and he gives the film a bit of a different look, from the sunny outdoors of the Amity village to the cold, sleek lab where Jeanine uses a host of Divergents to try to open that box (which looks almost like a large version of the cube from Hellraiser). The film also features quite a bit of off-screen violence (people clearly being shot in the head by Tris, Four and others) but very little blood. The special effects are also amped up quite a bit, especially as Tris is hooked to Jeanine's machine. The film is also presented in 3D this time around which makes the environment feel bigger but rarely does anything leap off the screen at you.

Divergent was a bit over-long at two-hours-twenty-minutes, but Insurgent is a little leaner with a two-hour run time that doesn't seem to lag a bit. With the story now past the Tris origin story, it becomes more engaging, interesting and surprising. I even found myself getting a little teary-eyed at the end as I started to relate the Divergents to those in our society today that are seen as different and scary for no real reason. This social commentary does add another layer to the story and I'm now curious to see how it all ends.

Will Smith keeps a heist plot in Focus

Heist movies are sometimes difficult things to pull off. Some are successful (like Ocean's Eleven) and some are not (like Ocean's Twelve). Some are very dramatic, some have humorous undertones. The new heist movie Focus falls in the latter category, and adds a bit of romance into the mix.

Will Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned con man who runs a team of master pickpockets who target large events like conventions and sporting events. One night in a restaurant, Nicky is approached by the beautiful Jess (Margot Robbie) to help get her out of a situation … pretend to be her date. Turns out Jess is also a pickpocket, a rather amateur one at that, who is called out by Nicky for her technique. Realizing he's a master, she begs him to mentor her in the fine art of theft.

He does, reluctantly at first, but her skills win him over, the team pulls off a million dollar day at a vaguely Super Bowl-ish event, and he sends Jess on her way with no explanation, breaking her heart in the process. Three years later, Nicky is working a new job in Brazil and it just so happens Jess is there too, now the girlfriend of his new mark. But is she really, or is she working a game too? And just who is playing whom?

Focus, thankfully, is a fun heist movie with beautiful leads pulling off impossible crimes, and no one really gets hurt (well, not until the last third of the movie). Smith is back in fine form, turning on the charm and looking great at 45 (trivia: Smith is now older than Uncle Phil was at the start of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air). After a series of much too serious films which culminated in the bomb that was After Earth, Smith is actually having fun again as the romantic lead who can talk a good game.

Margot Robbie, who made a big splash in The Wolf of Wall Street (and who will play DC Comics villain Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad alongside Jared Leto as The Joker), should become a huge star after this movie. First of all, she's simply gorgeous (I have a little gay crush on her now). But besides her beauty, the girl can act! There is a pretty funny scene with Nicky trying to teach Jess how to be alluring, but she can never get the look on her face right. She shows her confidence and excitement during the pick-pocketing, and she is incredibly vulnerable when Nicky forces her to potentially gamble away all of the money they just took in. Robbie truly sells that Jess feels completely betrayed with such honesty you just want to jump into the movie and give her a big hug.

The film is filled out with some great character actors in key roles including Adrian Martinez as Nicky's closest friend Farhad, Brennan Brown as Horst (who really runs Nicky's game but disappears midway through the movie) and Gerald McRaney as Owens, the chief of security for Nicky's mark in Brazil (played by Rodrigo Santoro). The movie, however, belongs to Smith and Robbie who have a great scene with B.D. Wong at the aforementioned Super Bowl-ish game that is the highlight of the movie.

While the movie is great fun overall, it does suffer from a bit of disjointedness and has just a few plot holes. First and foremost, the first "meet cute" between Nicky and Jess. Was it a coincidence that two pickpockets just happened to cross paths in that restaurant, or was Nicky actually watching Jess from afar? Who knows. And in the second half of the movie, did Jess know Nicky was going to be in Brazil three years later, and was she really there just to steal a $200,00 watch or to play Nicky? Never explained. Too many of these coincidences can sink a movie, but the stars are just so engaging that you accept it all and go along for the ride.

Besides the star power, the film looks gorgeous, particularly in the first part of the film with some of the most beautiful lighting I've seen on film in a while. The look of the film also changes from that dark, but lush winter in New York lighting to harsh, bright Brazilian sunlight in the last part of the film but it all serves a purpose. The film also has one of the best soundtracks of recent memory, using the music to set the mood. Focus may not be the best heist movie ever made, especially with the major plot holes, but the twists and turns, the constant guessing of who is playing whom, the music and the great performances of Smith and Robbie make it a worthwhile getaway from our wintry weather.