What Happend to the Divergent Series?

Started by SGOS, November 19, 2017, 09:13:35 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

SGOS

I believe there were a total of three films.  The first felt like it was more or less self contained, the next two were cliff hangers each with an obvious sequel to come.  There never was a final film.  Or did I miss it?  Not that I needed to see the fourth film, I may have ignored it, anyway.  The first one was passable, but the following films were marginally interesting at best.

I'm can't remember if Maze Runner ended with closure, or if it just died for lack of interest.  The whole rash of movie sequels based on sets of books for young adults seemed to have ended.  It started out wildly popular with Twighlight and Hunger Games, and then just poofed.

Hydra009

#1
Quote from: SGOS on November 19, 2017, 09:13:35 PMI believe there were a total of three films.  The first felt like it was more or less self contained, the next two were cliff hangers each with an obvious sequel to come.  There never was a final film.  Or did I miss it?  Not that I needed to see the fourth film, I may have ignored it, anyway.  The first one was passable, but the following films were marginally interesting at best.
I dunno.  I saw the first one (partially out of order) and was pretty underwhelmed (and confused at times).  But then again, I'm not the target market for this.  It was fairly successful and managed to cultivate a decent following.

After looking this up, there were three movies - Divergent (41% critics' rating on rotten tomatoes), Insurgent (29%), and Allegiant (13%).  Reportedly, Allegiant didn't do well and so the final movie, Ascendant, was scrapped.  Curiously, the audience gave it a 77% rating on rotten tomatoes despite it not existing.

QuoteI'm can't remember if Maze Runner ended with closure, or if it just died for lack of interest.
The third and final Maze Runner movie is slated for a January 2018 release.

I actually liked the first Maze Runner movie and loved the second one, Scorch Trials (admittedly, the presence of Littlefinger in his classic scheming role heavily influenced my rating).  If I'm completely honest with myself, they were both garage films, but they were a sort of garbage that really appeals to me.

QuoteThe whole rash of movie sequels based on sets of books for young adults seemed to have ended.  It started out wildly popular with Twighlight and Hunger Games, and then just poofed.
Yeah, there was this big post-apocalyptic teen movie craze for a while and it just kinda fizzled out pretty quick.  No idea why.

Gawdzilla Sama

We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

SGOS

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on November 20, 2017, 06:38:32 AM
Maybe because they were shit?
Some were.  And I would even say exceptionally so.  While no series in it's entirety would score great in my book, there were some individual films that I greatly enjoyed. 

I hate to say it, but I really like the first Twilight film.  The second was not as good, except for one great scene, and then the series became mind numbing for me.  In addition, Hollywood, decided to increase profit, by stretching out the final volumes into extra films, creating whole films that contained only half of the drama that they should.

The first and second Hunger Games get special praise from me, but the last two movies, which should have been one, seemed nonproductive from an entertainment standpoint, although they did provide closure that I really didn't need.

Divergent and Maze Runner were both good concepts, but Divergent wasn't executed very well, and beyond the maze of the original Maze Runner, the concept of that movie seemed strained.  I kept longing for the Maze, even though I realized it had already been done.

Hydra009

Quote from: SGOS on November 20, 2017, 09:36:44 AMbeyond the maze of the original Maze Runner, the concept of that movie seemed strained.
Yeah, I liked the ontological mystery (not knowing what led to these circumstances) and found the concept intriguing.  But it didn't pan out in a very interesting or unique way.  Shadowy organization is sadistic because reasons.  *groan*

Baruch

Quote from: SGOS on November 20, 2017, 09:36:44 AM
Some were.  And I would even say exceptionally so.  While no series in it's entirety would score great in my book, there were some individual films that I greatly enjoyed. 

I hate to say it, but I really like the first Twilight film.  The second was not as good, except for one great scene, and then the series became mind numbing for me.  In addition, Hollywood, decided to increase profit, by stretching out the final volumes into extra films, creating whole films that contained only half of the drama that they should.

The first and second Hunger Games get special praise from me, but the last two movies, which should have been one, seemed nonproductive from an entertainment standpoint, although they did provide closure that I really didn't need.

Divergent and Maze Runner were both good concepts, but Divergent wasn't executed very well, and beyond the maze of the original Maze Runner, the concept of that movie seemed strained.  I kept longing for the Maze, even though I realized it had already been done.

Hunger Games was stretched out for the same reason that The Hobbit was stretched out ... follow the Arkinstone.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

SGOS

Quote from: Baruch on November 20, 2017, 06:29:36 PM
Hunger Games was stretched out for the same reason that The Hobbit was stretched out ... follow the Arkinstone.
Yes, it was a naked attempt to stretch out the profits.  The diehards were committed of course.  I went to all of them because I wanted to see how close they would be to the final book.  I don't know how close they were.  It might have been that while I was reading, I was picturing scenes of my own, so the movie seemed different to me.  But it had been a while since I had read the books.

SGOS

I think it was Roger Ebert who said in his review of the final Twilight film that it contained the most waited for love scene in history of Hollywood.  I can't remember the love scene, but I'm sure it was a great relief.