A dystopian world that is based in Chicago about 5 factions has at last turned into a movie – and I’ll say it did a pretty good job.

As a movie lover and a book-lover, I was excited for this movie and very anxious to see how it would turn out. I was worried it would be completely butchered like some other book-to-movie adaptations, but I was satisfied and happy about this movie.

So far, the critics have hit this movie hard, saying it was just like the Hunger Games and hating on the fact that yes, this is another YA novel that came to the big-screen. But what did they expect exactly? This is the genre of most of the YA novels in the current era, and it seems like they are just tired of this era now. But was there anything else than that small fact that made them nit-pick? Some scenes were drawn out? The actress wasn’t that good?

I’m sorry, but I beg to differ. The story itself takes place in just three weeks and it definitely has some slow scenes that make you want to flip the pages to get through it, but the action-packed sequences make up for it, bigtime. As a book-to-movie adaptation, it did extremely well. The plot points were spot on, with the exception of some of the minor details – but some of them were brought up in other scenes that covered the main topic of the scene that got deleted. The actress, Shailene Woodley, was perfect for the role, I thought. Tris, herself, is exceptionally vulnerable and knows it no matter the task ahead of her. She knows that there is always a chance of failure and she prepares herself for it.

Unlike other female characters of the era right now, who have confidence in their actions, or at least pull off the facade of confidence, Shailene pulled off Tris really well with an air of uncertainty and the need to do things, the need to be brave.

For the people who read the book and then saw it, they will notice changes (as always, right?) and for those who haven’t read the book, they will enjoy a movie that takes witty humor, romance, action-packed scenes, and puts them all together in a premise on a test on where you will belong, with one choice dictating the rest of your life.

If you haven’t read the book, I still suggest it as it was a good novel, but this movie can be a stand-alone that doesn’t require you to read to understand what’s going on.

Overall, I say nicely done to the actors, the cinematography was beautifully done, the music selection was good and at points wonderful as it completed the atmosphere, and even though the critics weren’t that happy with it, I give it four stars.