Story
Insurgent begins three days after Divergent ends. Insurgent is set in an apocalyptic future where survivors are separated into five factions. Each faction has unique abilities and temperaments: Erudite is intelligent, Amity is peaceful, Dauntless is brave, Candour is honest, and Abnegation is selfless. The five factions live within or around the ruined remains of what was once Chicago. A sixth faction called Factionless also exists, and its members are branded as renegades. Within the Factionless group are individuals called Divergents. These people have characteristics from many factions and seen as dangerous to society.
Divergent renegade Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is holed up with the peaceful Amity faction, along with Factionless renegades Four (Theo James), Tris’s brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and Peter (Miles Teller). But their peace is short lived because Erudite faction leader Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) orders all Divergents to be rounded up. Troops overrun Amity, forcing Tris, Four, Caleb and Peter to go on the run. Jeanine has recovered a box with sides, each side bearing the seal of one faction. Jeanine believes that the box contains a hidden message that can restore order to their divided society, but only a very powerful Divergent can open the box by undergoing a series of five SIMS (virtual reality simulations). To date no Divergent has survived this test.
After escaping the troops and becoming separated from Caleb and Peter, Tris and Four make their way to the heart of ruined Chicago. Here they meet up with a large band of Factionless renegades led by Four’s mother, Evelyn (Naomi Watts). Evelyn wants Four and Tris to join a rebellion against Jeanine and the Erudite faction.
But Jeanine forces Tris to give herself up and submit to the SIMS experiment. This results in unexpected outcomes that change things forever.
Themes
Social engineering; totalitarian government; betrayal and revenge; mass murder; death of a parent
Violence
Insurgent has intense action violence and peril, including execution-style killings, some battle violence, violence against children, and some blood and gore. For example:
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Insurgent shows some use of substances. For example:
- One scene shows wine in glasses on a dinner table, but doesn’t show people drinking.
- Truth serum is injected into the side of two people’s necks. The gun-like syringes have long needles attached to them.
- A young woman is injected in the back with a knockout drug.
Nudity and sexual activity
Insurgent has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- A young woman and man kiss passionately on the lips. She sits on his lap on a bed, unzips her vest and removes her shirt to reveal her bare back. The couple kiss again, and the scene cuts to them lying in bed next to each other, naked but covered by bed clothes. Only their naked shoulders are showing.
- A young girl is naked in the shower, but only the tops of her shoulders show.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
Insurgent has occasional coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Insurgent is the second movie in the Divergent series, based on the popular series of books.
It is a science fiction thriller targeted at adolescent children and adults. The many intensely violent and disturbing scenes make this movie unsuitable for children. We strongly recommend parental guidance for younger teenagers, some of whom might have read and enjoyed the books.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- Self-sacrifice should be seen as a strength, not a weakness.
- Differences between people are vital for humanity and society to survive and develop.
You could talk with your children about the situation in which the movie’s lead character is put in a position where she must kill one person to save another life and must then live with her conscience.