Divergent Reviews: Our Verdict on Every Film

Our Divergent reviews rank Divergent (2014) first, Insurgent (2015) second and Allegiant (2016) last, and each verdict below is opinion set beside the facts that support it. Neil Burger directed Divergent (2014), and Robert Schwentke directed both sequels. A review score from somewhere else tells you little about whether the story will work for you, so these verdicts rest on the films themselves, their casts, their music and what they earned.

Divergent (2014) is the film I would recommend first, and it is also the longest of the three at 140 minutes. It opens in a walled future Chicago split into five factions (Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless and Erudite). Its best sequence, in my opinion, is the aptitude test, where Tori, played by Maggie Q, quietly alters the record of Beatrice Prior and warns her to hide the result. That single scene explains the rule of the whole world: you are meant to fit one virtue, and she does not. Tris then leaves Abnegation at the choosing ceremony for Dauntless.

Shailene Woodley leads, Theo James plays Four, and Kate Winslet appears as Jeanine, with Miles Teller as Peter, Ansel Elgort as Caleb and Zoë Kravitz as Christina. Tom Holkenborg composed the score, and Ellie Goulding sings "Beating Heart" and "Dead in the Water". Commercially it did well, earning about $289 million worldwide on an $85 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.

Insurgent is the faster film at 119 minutes, and it is the one I would pick if you want momentum over world building. Schwentke replaced Burger in the director's chair, with Burger staying on as an executive producer. The story begins days after the Erudite attack on Abnegation, when Jeanine declares martial law and hunts the Divergent, and Tris, Four, Caleb and Peter shelter with the peaceful Amity faction. The central device is a mysterious box that only a Divergent can open, which makes Tris a target for Jeanine and for the Dauntless leaders Max and Eric (Eric Coulter is the one to watch).

Naomi Watts joins as Evelyn Johnson-Eaton and Octavia Spencer as Johanna Reyes. Joseph Trapanese scored it after replacing Junkie XL, and the soundtrack carries songs by M83 with Haim, Royal Blood, Woodkid with Lykke Li and Imagine Dragons (see the Divergent soundtrack). It earned about $297 million worldwide on a $110 million budget, which made it the highest earner of the three by roughly $8 million.

Allegiant is the film I rank last, and I say so with reasons, not scorn. After the fall of the faction system, Evelyn has taken control and closed the city's wall, and Tris and Four escape over it with Christina, Peter, Caleb and Tori. Jeff Daniels joins the cast as David, and Tove Lo supplies the single "Scars". In my opinion, the film never recovers the tight focus of the first one. The numbers match that feeling: about $179 million worldwide on a $110 million budget, with only $66 million at the US box office.

Allegiant was announced as the first of two final films. The second, Ascendant, lost Schwentke in February 2016 and was later redeveloped as a TV movie, and it was never made. For the current position, see Divergent Ascendant.

Start with Divergent (2014) and decide from there, because each film assumes you have seen the one before it. If you want the full sequence, our Divergent movies in order guide gives the release order, which is also the story order. If you want my ranking with a reason for each place, see Divergent movies ranked. To find a stream, check where to watch Divergent, and for the numbers behind the verdicts see the Divergent box office figures.

For the wider picture, start at the Divergent movies hub, and for the people on screen see the Divergent cast. Fans comparing the films with Veronica Roth's novels can read Divergent books vs movies, and the Divergent factions page explains the world the films build.

As of November 3, 2026, no new Divergent film has been announced or dated. Roth's new novel, The Sixth Faction, was due on October 6, 2026, with a second book due in February 2027, according to Cinefilos. That report mentions no new film, and neither does Entertainment Weekly's 2023 report via Yahoo, which says Lionsgate's plans for a final film were scrapped. Any new adaptation therefore remains speculation, and I will not treat it as more than that.