Tonight I went to see Allegiant with my dad. Allegiant is the third book in the Divergent series and in the “tradition” of movies based off Young Adult series, they are splitting this book into two parts- Allegiant and then Ascendant (which I won’t even get into that change in title)!

I am a HUGE fan of the Divergent series, so I was really excited for this movie. So excited that I pre-ordered tickets for it (something I’ve never done) and then saw it on it’s official opening day (also something I’ve never done). This movie has left me with mixed emotions like I’ve never gotten from a movie based off a book I’ve read and that’s mainly because while watching the movie I said to myself so many times “That wasn’t in the book” or “That’s not how they did it in the book” but I was also going “Why wasn’t that in the book? That was awesome!” I know that no movie based off a book can be exactly like the book, but I also don’t think a movie based off a book should be almost completely unrecognizable from the book.

Without giving spoilers, here are a few things that are giving me mixed emotions about the movie-

Some characters went on completely different arcs than they did in the book, their decisions and where they were at the end of the movie not matching up to the book, taking some characters in the opposite direction they went in the book and also possibly changing the fates of some characters (but we’ll have to wait for Ascendant to know that for sure).

Some elements from the book that were- in my opinion- key to the book, were removed completely or were not given the full attention they deserved, which also changed some of the characters decisions.

The ending was not like the book, but I understood that because they’re splitting it into two parts. However, they are pretty much going to have to come up with a completely new movie taking some ideas from the book in order to make it work, something I feel is both terrifying and exciting.

They made the world a lot different than it was in the book, introducing things and places not mentioned in the book. But by doing that, it added to the movie, expanding the world for us in a way I feel the book missed.

My mixed emotions come from my devotion to the book, but also my love for movies that take you on a heart pounding journey which is what this movie did. Was it the best book-to-movie adaptation in the world? Definitely not. Was it a good movie? In my opinion, I think it was a good movie, but I’m also disappointed that it wasn’t like the book (Is it possible to be both happy and disappointed with something at the same time)? Was it the worst movie-to-book adaptation in the world? No (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 still holds the number one spot for the worst book-to-movie adaptation in my opinion). Am I looking forward to Ascendant? Yes I am. Do I think others should go see it? I think if you’ve only seen the movies, you’ll  want to see it and your opinion will be different from mine. If you’ve read the books, go in with an open mind and realistic expectations because if you don’t, you’ll be more disappointed than I was (but if you’re one of the fans that hated certain parts of the book, then you’ll probably be happier with the movie).

So that is my Allegiant movie review. I didn’t go into specifics because I didn’t want to give any spoilers (I hate spoilers myself, so I wouldn’t do that to anyone else), and if there was anything that you felt was spoiler like, I am so sorry because I really tried to avoid that! Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this review and that maybe it helped you make a choice on whether to see it or not. My question for all of you is- What is your favorite book-to-movie adaption? And in your opinion, what was the worst book-to-movie adaptation you’ve ever seen? Can’t wait to see your responses!