Divergent (2014)

Plot

In a futuristic dystopian Chicago, the society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). The Factionless have no status or privilege in society. When children reach the age of 16, they are subject to a serum-induced psychological test which recommends their best-suited faction, then are allowed to choose any faction as their permanent faction at the subsequent Choosing Ceremony.

Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) was born into Abnegation, which runs the government. Her father, Andrew (Tony Goldwyn), serves on the ruling council along with the head of Abnegation, Marcus Eaton (Ray Stevenson). Beatrice takes her test with a Dauntless woman named Tori (Maggie Q) as her proctor. Her results show attributes of multiple factions, meaning she is Divergent. Tori records her results as Abnegation and warns her to keep the true result a secret, telling her that since Divergents can think independently and the government therefore cannot control them, they are considered threats to the existing social order.

The next day at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice's brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) chooses Erudite, while after some hesitation, Beatrice chooses Dauntless. After the ceremony, Beatrice meets Christina (Zoë Kravitz), Al (Christian Madsen), and Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), three other initiates from other factions who also chose Dauntless. The initiates' commitment and fearlessness are immediately tested, and Eric (Jai Courtney), a brutal Dauntless leader, makes it clear that anyone who does not meet the high expectations will be expelled from the faction. Beatrice is the first to volunteer for a leap of faith from a tall building into a dark hole, and when Four (Theo James), a transfer initiates' instructor, asks her name, she decides to shorten it to "Tris".

Tris initially struggles in Dauntless training, ranking far below the cutoff after the first evaluation, but slowly improves. Eric matches her against her nemesis - Peter (Miles Teller) in a fight, though Tris is soundly defeated and ends up in the hospital. When she discovers that she will miss the final test, she breaks out of the hospital and joins the rest of the initiates, secures her team's victory, and makes the cut.

In the next phase of training, the initiates are subject to psychological simulations where they face their worst fears. Tris's divergence allows her to excel at the tests, defeating them in unusual ways, but Four warns her to hide her abilities and solve the challenges as a normal Dauntless.

Tris visits her brother Caleb, who tells her that Erudite is planning to overthrow Abnegation and become the ruling faction. On her return to Dauntless headquarters, Tris is attacked by Al and two others before being rescued by Four. The next day Al pleads with Tris for her forgiveness but she refuses and calls him a coward. He later kills himself rather than face failure.

To prepare her for her final test, Four takes Tris into his own fear simulations, where she learns that his real name is Tobias and he is the son of Marcus Eaton. After the simulation, they kiss. Tris then passes her test and is officially initiated into the Dauntless. The rest of the Dauntless are then injected with a serum supplied by Erudite which is supposedly for tracking, but is actually for mind control.

The next morning, the Dauntless prepare to execute the orders of the Erudite. Divergents are unaffected by the new serum, so Tris must blend in to avoid suspicion. She finds Four, who reveals himself to be a Divergent. While the Dauntless move to raid the Abnegation, Tris and Four separate from the group and attempt to locate Tris's parents, but Eric sees that Four is not under control and captures the two. Four is taken into custody while Tris is ordered to be executed. Her mother Natalie (Ashley Judd) appears and saves her but is shot and killed as they try to escape.

Tris finds her father in hiding with Caleb, Marcus, and several Abnegations. The group sneaks into the Dauntless headquarters, where Tris encounters Peter and forces him to lead them to Erudite's control center. Her father sacrifices himself in a shootout, and Tris goes in alone to find Four, who is now under stronger mind control and attacks her. Using her knowledge of his fears, she manages to wake him from the mind control and the two enter the central control room, where Erudite leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is about to have the Dauntless army execute the entire Abnegation faction. Tris uses a sample of the mind control serum on her to force her to cancel the program. The group escapes the compound and boards a train out of the city.