A story of a dystopian society that has risen from the ashes, and the girl who will be instrumental in societal change. Doesn’t that sound familiar? The theme of “Divergent” may lack in originality, but the details of the story make up for it.

Though I remain torn on my opinion of books being made into movies, as my knowledge from the book made me enjoy the movie as much as it made me realize it was why I was enjoying it, I can’t deny that I was entertained by “Divergent.”

The story follows Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Shailene Woodley), as she comes of age to take the personality test that will tell her which faction she fits into. The faction system was designed to keep peace in a divided world, and when Tris takes the test to find that she doesn’t fit into just one faction, she faces imminent danger as a “divergent.”

I was pleasantly surprised by Woodley. I did not have high expectations of her role in this movie due to her “Secret Life of the American Teenager” roots. She is very relatable, and not the least bit annoying, which can be hard to come by.

Another character I particularly enjoyed was Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), the antagonist of the story who comes from Erudite, the faction based on intelligence. Winslet played the character perfectly, as a rational and persistent woman who truly believes she is doing what is best for society, and has an impressively seamless American accent.

Four (Theo James), Tris’ teacher in her new faction and eventual love interest, is both intense and loveable. Four and Tris have excellent chemistry, and though the character of Four is a little dry, James is able to make his character likeable, as he should be. This may be due to the number of times he takes his shirt off.

The pace of the movie seems appropriate at the beginning, but, by the end, the story feels rushed. In addition, many of the characters from the novel are so underdeveloped that people who read the book end up disappointed, and those who did not end up confused. This can be accredited to the fact that the novel simply has too much character development and detail to fit into a film.

If you are a fan of the novel, you will fill in the gaps of detail that the film cannot fit, but if you have not read the book, you may be left feeling somewhat underwhelmed by a story that is such and enthralling novel. I enjoyed the film, but it is not a must-see.

Karly Horn is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.