‘Insurgent’ opens in PH ahead of US

MANILA, Philippines—The Shailene Woodley starrer—Veronica Roth’s best-selling young adult book “The Divergent Series”—is now on its second instalment, “Insurgent,” opening in cinemas nationwide on March 18, two days ahead of the United States.

The cast’s increased star power is expected to push “Insurgent” past the box-office feat of “The Divergent,” a whopping $288.7 million globally.

In “Insurgent,” Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Woodley) and Tobias “Four” Eaton (Theo James) have been exposed as Divergents—people who don’t fit into any of the five societal classifications or “factions.” They find themselves on the run from Jeanine (Kate Winslet), power-hungry leader of the Erudite faction. They roam the city hoping to find allies among the Amity, Candor, Abnegation and Dauntless factions—as well as the rebellious and impoverished Factionless mass.

Based on temperaments

Heartsick and guilt-ridden over the violent deaths of her family and friends, Tris tries to uncover the secret that her parents sacrificed their lives for—which explains why Jeanine will stop at nothing to capture her. Desperate to avoid causing her loved ones any more pain, Tris faces her darkest fears in a series of near-impossible challenges that will unlock the truth about the past and ultimately, the future, of their world.

Like “Divergent,” “Insurgent” is set in the ruins of a futuristic, walled Chicago where survivors are divided according to their abilities and temperaments:

Members of the Abnegation faction are selfless; Amity, peaceful; Candor, honest; Dauntless, brave, and Erudite, intelligent. Those who belong to no faction are known simply as Factionless.

In the first film, Tris, who grew up among the Abnegation, learns through a government-administered aptitude test that she is a Divergent. As such, she has qualities attributed to multiple factions. Because Divergents are independent thinkers, they are considered dangerous.

Dauntless pursuit

Tris decides to join Dauntless to conceal her identity. As part of her rigorous training, she takes part in hallucinatory simulations that reveal her unique abilities. She finds an ally—eventually a romantic interest—in Four, a Dauntless instructor who is also revealed to be a Divergent.

The stakes and the action are increased dramatically as Divergents are hunted by Jeanine’s brutal militia.

Notes producer Douglas Wick: “From the first pages of the book ‘Insurgent,’ we knew that Veronica Roth must have been drinking rocket fuel when she wrote the story. The action never lets up. We built the world in ‘Divergent’ and now, in ‘Insurgent,’ we tear it up.”

From Pioneer Films, directed by Robert Schwentke, “Insurgent” also features Oscar winners Octavia Spencer and Winslet, Naomi Watts, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Milles Teller (“Whiplash”), Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Daniel Dae Kim, Emjay Anthony, Keiynan Lonsdale, Rosa Salazar, Suki Waterhouse and Jonny Weston.