Film Preview: The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015)

Poster

Poster #1

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

March 20, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart.”

Poster: B- / C / C+ (7) / B- / B (5) / C+ (9) / B+

Review: (#1) The first design is a head-trip of mind-bending proportions. It doesn’t say a damned thing about the film itself, but it’s somewhat fun to look at. (#2) Then you have a design ripped right out of the first trailer and it’s as unspectacular and unexciting as the poster was, possibly even less so.

(#3-#10) These seven character posters are distinct only in their differing poses. Apart from that, you probably couldn’t tell these people apart, which does little for the certain accusations of sameness that will surely emerge.

(#11) Like the first design, this one focuses on the fighting in two directions angle, which might help create suspense, but it doesn’t make any sense within the framework of the plot, which is why looking cool has to account for something. (#12-#16) I’m not quite sure what these character posters are designed to convey, but they certainly look cool doing so. Perhaps the city is threatening to poke out their eyes, which seems weird, but I can go with it.

(#17-#25) I-N-S-U-R-G-E-N-T! No, we’re not at a pep rally. Why these designs exist is beyond my comprehension. Thankfully, they are at least interesting to look. (#26) The dystopian genre has generated some rather unusual, but spectacular poster designs. The Hunger Games franchise has had them and this one has. This design, which creates the faint outline of a hypodermic syringe, is a fascinating and symbolic effort.

Trailer: C+ / C+ / C

Review: (#1) The toughest part of selling the first film was setting up the concept without giving away the plot. The problem here is that they’ve tried so very hard to avoid revealing the plot that they’ve created a modestly exciting, but ultimately boring teaser that doesn’t even remotely dig into anything fans of the franchise are looking forward to.

(#2) This time out, the trailer does a slightly better job rooting the film in as much realism as it can, but seldom reaches beyond its devoted fanbase, which won’t help grow a property that’s performing weakly by genre standards.

(#3) There’s a little more substance to this third trailer, but it still feels all too familiar and, in tandem, all the more bland. There’s minimal action, no sense of danger and the stakes seem minor.

Oscar Prospects:

None.

Revisions:

(December 14, 2014) Original
(January 11, 2015) New Trailer (#2)
(February 22, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#11-#16)
(March 15, 2015) New Posters (#17-#26)