Sometime after the debut of Twilight the movie companies decided that it was going to be a good idea to take as many Young Adult novel trilogies and turn them into movies as possible. And then after Harry Potter decided that they were going to film the final book over the course of movies, Twilight picked up on the strategy, and then the Hunger Games, and now we’re forced to do the same with Allegiant. Although, it shouldn’t really be considered as forced.

Allegiant Offers a Successful Third Movie in the Divergent Series

Watching movies like the Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1, the money grab is obvious. About halfway through the first of the two part finale, when the movie has already built up to the showdown between Snow and Eberdeen, a battle of the heavyweights that everyone has been waiting for with almost as much anticipation as the people in the people in the Capitol have for the Hunger Games each year. Except, it never really happens.

Sure, there’s a little bit of action, but for the most part, it’s stretched out and unnecessary dialogue that doesn’t necessarily add to the story.

But unlike a lot of the other trilogies turned into tetralogies, Allegiant doesn’t feel that way. In fact, there’s a freshness in the way that Allegiant was able to keep the movie relevant. And while it’s still setting up for the fourth movie, the catharsis, that had been missing from other third installments of tetralogies, is there.

This is likely due to the fact, that while our heroes Tris, Four, and the rest and have escaped from the city of Chicago, the conflict that has arisen since the death of Jeanine is still present. And while there are events happening in the outside world, the primary conflict is driven by the world in which we had watched in the first two movies. With the conflict’s created by both world’s resolving the first is necessary in order to establish the catharsis for the last and final chapter of the Divergent saga.

Unfortunately, Divergent won’t be winning any awards outside of maybe the Teen Choice awards, and it shouldn’t. The movie doesn’t do much to offer any new special effects that haven’t been seen before. The performances are what you would expect for a teenage movie. The creativity is lacking in regards to coming up with new ways to tell their story. And the continuation of the underlining moral of everyone being equal/segregation creates conflict is still a little too juvenile for an adult audience that is normally responsible for handing out the golden trophies as opposed to flowered surfboards.

But as a straightforward movie, one that’s not built on the pretentiousness of trying to be artistic, or trying to be anything more than entertaining while conveying the moral message of equality in an interesting manner, and in a way that can be appropriate for all ages, Allegiant manages to succeed in ways even greater than the previous two Divergent movies.

Recommended for families, teenagers, and fans of the Divergent series

Divergent hits theaters everywhere March 18