Divergent IMAX ***

Thin on content and overlong, the Hunger Games wannabe "Divergent" is at least enlivened by the performances of its two leads, Shailene Woodley and Theo James.  Woodley plays Tris, who has just chosen the faction she will ally with for her adult life in the future dystopian land-locked Chicago, where everyone must choose which of five cardinal virtues suits them best. Surprising her family and perhaps even herself, she chooses the most physically demanding one to apprentice, where James' character Four becomes her trainer, advisor, and coach.

Hyped as a more confident and resilient heroine than girls are used to seeing, Woodley seems to grow with the role, with drills and circumstances driving her to become a leader. James gets the tough love bit down, displaying a sensitivity beneath the hard shell exterior that hits the mark. In an inspired choice of casting against type, Kate Winslet plays the cold, calculating, and self-deluded leader of a rival faction. Supporting roles are fine, with Miles Teller and Maggie Q especially creating memorable characters.

I suspect the book had a lot more content, but as presented in the movie the factions are barely described, with an emphasis on conflicts that hints of a history that is unrevealed. The film focuses on the brutal bouts and trials of her new profession, then shifts to the battle that has been brewing. Clearly at his best with intimate scenes, director Neil Burger, whose work was so confidant in "Limitless," struggles to stage the war scenes here, which are confused and lack orientation, a frame of reference, while the mock battle in the training section was tight and effective. The climactic scene suffers from the same sponginess and weird dilation of time when lives are at stake.

Hopefully the next installment will not spend so much time on so little and will introduce a new world and characters beyond the walls of the future Chicago.