Big Hero 6 (2014)

Storyline

When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called "Big Hero 6."

Review 

The last time I left a cinema feeling anything close to this elated was after Gravity. My heart was racing, I felt so joyful. I never feel like this after a film. Big Hero 6 immediately replaces the Lego movie as my No.1, main stream, animated film. 

I came onto IMDb to find out more about this entertaining, action packed, emotional roller-coaster only to see half a dozen vicious reviews ... I feel so somber. I can't believe anyone would loath this film to the levels of some reviewers have gone to on this site. It was an absolute joy. The whole cinema was ecstatic, both kids and adults. 

I have a 7 year old boy, and even without being a dad, I'd still love this film. Hope it picks up the awards (Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA etc etc) it deserves.

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Gone Girl (2014)

 Storyline

On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

Review

Gone Girl marks Fincher's tenth feature film and his most mature work since Fight Club. Centering on Nick Dunne, a husband desperately trying to find his wife all while having police and media accuse him of murder. The story sounds straight out of the Scott Peterson case and the film looks unlike any film I've seen in recent years. Lead by an all star cast featuring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris, Gone Girl rises above the pack with smart storytelling, phenomenal pacing and perfect performances. What Gone Girl does so brilliantly is taps into the audience's psyche regarding marriage and the ideology behind a sanctioned union that is corrupt. It is really heavy stuff when the story really gets to the meat and bones of it all. With plenty of twists and turns, Gone Girl keeps you, not only second guessing the whole idea of marriage, but the intentions of every character in the film. It is truly one of the most twisted films adapted from an even sicker and twisted book that's out there right now. Gillian Flynn does wonders with her adaption from her own novel. The dialog is crisp, the characters are multi-layered, it truly is a pitch perfect script that doesn't have one false moment in it. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are EXCELLENT in this film. This is a different Affleck, a very human and realized Affleck. Nick Dunne is a wonderful role for him and captivates just how good he can be with a terrific director. Harris and Perry give well rounded performances as well but are nothing compared to Affleck and Pike. David Fincher and his long time collaborator and cinematographer, Jeff Cronenweth create a dreary, horrific tone for Gone Girl that makes every twist and turn that much more gut wrenching. Every shot is meticulously planned, showing each shot as if it were a still frame that spoke a thousand words. It is truly gorgeous filmmaking. And now for the score...Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch deliver a perfect score, besting their Social Network and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo score. If Reznor won for Social Network, I fully expect not only a nomination but a win for this film. Overall, this is a mesmerizing film that demands multiple viewings to truly get the full experience. It is impeccably made, beautifully acted and an all around near perfect film.

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Synopsis

Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) is stroking the hair of his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike), saying through a voiceover that he'd like to crack her skull and pick apart her brain to answer that eternal question married couples have: What are you thinking?

July 5, 2012

Nick takes out the garbage early in the morning, and looks around at the quiet neighbourhood. He then goes to a bar he co-owns with his sister Margo (Carrie Coon). He brings her a Mastermind board game that she throws in with a pile of others. He asks for a drink, and she pours one for each of them. It's the morning of Nick and Amy's 5th wedding anniversary, and he expects another scavenger hunt. Nick seems distressed, not wanting to be there at all.

January 8, 2005

Nick and Amy first meet at a party in New York. He writes for a men's magazine and she writes personality quizzes for another. She makes a comment on the cleft of his chin making him look untrustworthy. He puts two fingers over the cleft so he'll appear more trusting. They take a walk and pass through a bakery that is getting a sugar delivery. Sugar is floating around everywhere as Nick and Amy walk through it. Nick tells Amy he has to kiss her now. He wipes some sugar off her lips and kisses her. They are later seen in bed with her lying on her back in her underwear and him performing oral sex on her.

Present Day.

Nick gets a call from a neighbor, telling him that his cat is outside. He returns home and calls for Amy. No answer. He goes into the living room and sees a table flipped over and the glass top is shattered on the floor. Nick screams Amy's name, startling a neighbor.

Nick calls the police. Arriving at his home are Detective Rhonda Boney and Officer Jim Gilpin (Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit). They inspect the place. Rhonda sees a small splatter of blood in the kitchen above the range. In the living room, they see a wall with pictures of "Amazing Amy", a book series written by Amy's parents. Rhonda comments that she loves the books and is surprised to learn that Nick is married to Amazing Amy herself.

February 24, 2007

Nick and Amy go to a party held by her parents Rand and Marybeth (David Clennon and Lisa Banes). It is to celebrate the latest Amazing Amy book, where Amy gets married. As Nick and Amy discuss the exhibitions at the party, it becomes clear that the parents' fictional Amazing Amy character is a dramatically "improved" version of their real daughter that is sold it to the public. (For example, they gave Amazing Amy a dog, but refused one for their real daughter. They made Amazing Amy a prodigy cellist when real the Amy dropped out.) Rand asks Amy to go sit with some reporters so they can interview her. She does, and they ask her mundane questions such as why she's not married yet (to which she replies that Amazing Amy has always been one step ahead of her). Nick comes in pretending to be a reporter. He asks her more personal questions, leading up to a marriage proposal - opening his notebook to reveal an engagement ring. He mentions that she has a world class vagina.

Present Day

Nick is brought into the police station for questioning about Amy's disappearance. Rhonda and Jim find it odd that he seems rather indifferent and passive when answering questions and the fact that he doesn't know if Amy has any close friends or her blood type. He goes to call Amy's parents. Her mother asks to speak to Rhonda. In the next room, Nick finds that his father Bill (Leonard Kelly-Young) is in there after the police found him wandering around town, having left his assisted living facility (he suffers from Alzheimer's). Nick drives him back to the facility.

Nick stays at Margo's house while the police inspect his home. A pregnant neighbor, Noelle Hawthorne (Casey Wilson), who claims to be Amy's best friend, comes by and asks about Amy. In the upstairs bedroom, Officer Gilpin says that he found "it" in the drawer of "unmentionables." Detective Boney pulls out an envelope, labelled "Clue One."

July 5, 2009

Nick and Amy have been happily married for two years. On their anniversary, another of Amy's scavenger hunts takes them to the library to have sex in a quiet area. Amy gives Nick a gift. He opens the box to find a package of very high quality bed sheets. She refers to a private joke they had about how their sex was too good for ordinary sheets. He laughs and pulls out a gift for her - the same sheets.

Present Day

When questioned about this "clue", Nick says Amy always prepares a treasure hunt for their anniversary. The first clue leads him and Rhonda to his office, with another envelope on his desk labelled "Clue Two." Detective Boney finds a pair of red panties in the office. Nick is surprised by this discovery, as it doesn't seem directly related to the clue. The second clue mentions a brown house, but tells the detective that he doesn't understand it. Nick goes to his father's old home, which is painted blue. He arrives, but sets off the alarm. He enters the code twice to disarm the alarm, but it doesn't work. The phone rings, and it is the alarm monitoring company investigating the alarm. As he starts to explain that it's his father's house, the detectives arrive, so he figures they must be following him. He finds the third clue there but only has time to tuck it into his back pocket, hiding it from the police. The detectives question him as to why he's there. He says he comes by once a week to make sure the place doesn't burn down.

Amy's parents fly in from New York as a press conference is held to spread awareness of Amy's disappearance. Nick asks others for help, but he appears emotionless. He is asked to pose next to a poster of Amy, and a photographer captures the brief moment when a smile appears on his face.



Nick and Amy's parents meet with Rhonda to determine some possible suspects. Rand names an ex-boyfriend of Amy's, Desi Collings, who apparently tried to commit suicide after Amy broke up with him. They also mention a former classmate named Tommy O'Hara who was convicted of sexually assaulting Amy.

People go to the volunteer center to help find Amy. One person there is Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris), but he leaves without saying anything. Nick tries to come off as friendly to others, but Jim doesn't buy it. Even Marybeth thinks he is acting like a "homecoming king." Nick is approached in a hallway by a woman who extends her sympathy and offers to make him a chicken-Frito pie casserole. She stands next to him and takes a selfie of the two of them, telling him to say "chicken-Frito pie." He makes a fake smile as she takes the photo and he immediately realizes this was a mistake and asks her to delete the photo. She refuses, and he asks her not to share it with anyone. She replies, "I'll share it with anyone I please" as she walks away. The photo goes viral. Consequently, the media starts analyzing Nick. TV personalities like Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle) paint him as an unempathetic sociopath.

2010

Amy's diary explains how both she and Nick lose their jobs. Amy talks about the troubles they are having, then says, "But that's all background noise." She says that none of it matters as long as they have each other. Then Amy tells Nick that her parents are having financial problems and asked her for her trust fund money, which is nearly a million dollars. Nick is shocked that she would do that without talking to him first. Amy explains that the money is really their money anyway, and then says, "This is the part where you say, 'It's all background noise.'" He appears to calm down, and repeats the phrase. Later on, Nick has started losing interest in the marriage and has begun overspending on electronics like video games and a new laptop. Amy thinks he is trying to make her look like a cold, bitchy wife. To make matters worse, Nick and Margo's mother Maureen (Cyd Strittmatter) has been diagnosed with breast cancer, forcing Nick and Amy to move back to his hometown in Missouri. Amy feels a bit upset because Nick didn't even discuss the decision to move to Missouri with her, although she does support it. In general, Amy feels left out. She says he is just using her for sex. Nick is getting ready to go out with his old friends one evening when Amy tries to persuade him to stay with her, but he refuses. Then she offers to join him, but he also refuses, saying how she won't enjoy it. Then Any makes the suggestion that they have a child. He starts to get angry, asking why couldn't they have had this argument four hours prior, instead of when he is about to leave. The argument escalates as they go down the stairs, and at the bottom of the stairs Nick grabs Amy and throws her down, and she strikes the bannister post and falls to the floor. He immediately looks shameful.

Present Day

A few nights after Amy disappears, Nick is at Margo's house. It's late and Margo has gone to bed. Nick gets a text saying, "I'm outside." Nick opens the back door. A young woman, Andie Fitzgerald (Emily Ratajkowski), comes in and starts kissing Nick. He tells her to be quiet while Margo is sleeping. He makes sure that Andie hasn't said anything to anybody about her affair with Nick or that he has mentioned wanting to divorce Amy. He asks her if she left some red panties in his office, and she is doubtful, but not 100% sure. They continue kissing and have sex.

Nick has Andie slip out the door early in the morning, thinking Margo is still asleep. However, Margo appears in the kitchen and angrily berates her brother for lying to her, knowing what would happen if the cops or media were to find out about this.

At night, there is a vigil for Amy. Nick stands alongside her parents, and tries to seem more empathetic and anxious to find Amy, telling the crowd how he truly loves his wife. Andie is clearly visible up front in the crowd and mouths the word "asshole" in a way that only he can see. Noelle walks by and calls out to Nick, asking him if he knew that Amy was six weeks pregnant. The reporters chase Nick all the way to the police car as they escort him away.

Margo presses Nick about the pregnancy bombshell. He says he did not know she was pregnant, but that he did want kids and Amy didn't. He shows her a letter from a fertility clinic that they were going to, stating that they were going to dispose of a semen sample they had left there, unless someone came to retrieve it.

Rhonda and Jim meet Nick back in his home and explain that the results of a light test showed that someone wiped up a large pool of blood in the kitchen. Nick also doubts that Amy knew Noelle, until Rhonda shows him photographs of the two of them together, along with Noelle's kids. She even hands Nick a document of recent expensive transactions from his credit card, mentioning items including golf clubs and a Stratocaster guitar, though Nick says he never bought any of those items. Additionally, Rhonda presses Nick about the fact that he upped Amy's life insurance policy earlier that year to over a million dollars. He barks back, "because she told me to!" Rhonda gets a call confirming Amy's urine sample analysis indicate that she was indeed pregnant.

Nick remembers the third clue in his pocket, and tries to decipher it. Rhonda and Jim continue their investigation, checking out the abandoned mall, now frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers. They find a local dealer and show him a picture of Amy. He tells Rhonda that she came by and tried to buy a gun from him. He had a clear memory of the event; it was Valentine's Day and she had been wearing a pink dress. They go back to Nick's father's home, wondering why Nick went there in the first place so soon after Amy's disappearance. In the furnace in the basement, they find Amy's diary hidden in the furnace, burnt slightly. Nick, meanwhile, figures out that the third clue refers to a wood shed outside Margo's home. He discovers a large pile of items from the credit card purchases stored there, as well as a gift-wrapped box in the middle of it all.

Amy's Version: July 5, 2012

We go back to "the morning of", and we learn the truth - Amy is alive and she staged everything to lead up to her disappearance. She is seen driving away from Missouri with her arm bandaged up with a blood spot evident on the inside of her elbow. Amy had used a variety of pens to make recent diary entries appear as if they were written over the past 5 years, and periodically threw each one out the car window. It documents a happy marriage deteriorating to the point where she buys a gun because she is afraid that Nick may kill her. She even faked her pregnancy by befriending pregnant Noelle and making her think that Nick was hurting her. Amy drained her toilet and offered Noelle lemonade until she had to use the bathroom. Amy then stole her urine and used it to submit it for the pregnancy test.

On their fifth anniversary, Amy told Nick to take a walk and really think about their marriage, knowing full well he would go for a walk in his favorite isolated spot along the beach and thus have no alibi. Meanwhile she set up a crime scene to make Nick look guilty. Her plans included suicide so that her body would be found to completely frame Nick. To make sure she's not found out, she cuts her hair, dyes it, and makes herself look unkempt and disheveled. She begins eating large amounts of junk food to gain weight. She hides out at a small resort under the name Nancy, even hitting herself in the face with a hammer to sell the idea that she is hiding from an abusive boyfriend. She befriends a woman named Greta (Lola Kirke). Amy tells her how she came across Nick leaving the bar with Andie during a snowy night, wiping her lips before he kissed her the same way he kissed Amy when they first met (this part is true). With her plan working perfectly, she postpones her suicide for another month.

Back to Nick

Nick brings the gift box inside and opens it to find Punch and Judy dolls, with the Judy doll holding a baby and missing a mallet. Together, he and Margo deduce that Amy has framed Nick for her disappearance.

Nick goes to New York to find Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), a lawyer specializing in tough, high-profile cases who has been following Nick's story in the media. He agrees to help Nick in his defense. He gives Nick the contact information of Tommy O'Hara (Amy's second boyfriend, who was charged with sexual assault) so that Nick can ask him questions.

Nick meets Tommy (Scoot McNairy) in a bar. Tommy says he and Amy dated for a while, but he could see that she was using him. He gave her some space, hoping she'd break off the relationship. One day, she seduced him, and told him she wanted rough sex. She staged a scene where she had marked her wrists and left neckties tied to the bed to make it appear he had tied her up. She went to the police, and claimed he had raped her. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge to avoid prison time. Now he is a registered sex offender and has not been able to get a job. He warns Nick about how evil and manipulative she is. Nick later visits Desi after finding his address from a letter he wrote to Amy. After Nick asks Desi about his side of the story regarding his attempted suicide, Desi closes the door on him and walks back inside his house without confirming or denying the things she told Nick about him.

At the resort, Amy plays mini-golf with Greta and her friend Jeff (Boyd Holbrook). At one point, she jumps up and drops her fanny pack full of money. Greta and Jeff notice. The next day, as Amy is cleaning the room meticulous to prepare to leave, they force their way into her room and start searching for the money. Amy threatens to call the police. Greta says that she doesn't know what she's up to, but has dyed hair and she doesn't think she's ever been hit. Greta says, "You won't call the police." They find the money under her dress, and take it. Now penniless, she calls the Missing Amy tip line, and reports suspicious activity at Margo's wood shed. She then places a call from a pay phone.

Tanner goes to Missouri to help Nick and Margo clear up Nick's image. Nick tells Tanner what he thinks has been going on with Amy, dropping clues that only he would really know. For instance, the reason he knew that the "brown house" in the treasure hunt clue was his dad's house was because they used to pretend that his dad was a spy called Mr. Brown. Nick also admits to the affair, which Tanner says he ought to tell the cops about so that it gives them one less reason to think Nick had a motivation to kill Amy.

Nick later books an interview on TV with Sharon Schieber (Sela Ward) to tell his side of the story. Tanner coaches him to make him seem more likeable by having Nick admit that he's been unfaithful and dishonest, which would earn him some possible points in the media.

On the day of the interview, Tanner keeps trying to get Nick to come off less smug and more genuinely upset by pelting him with gummy bears in his dressing room when Nick appears too smug or untrustworthy.

At the same time, Desi meets Amy at a casino. She never mentions getting her money stolen, but she continues to play up the abused wife angle. They leave for Desi's lake house.

As Nick meets Sharon, a bombshell hits the news: Andie has confessed to her affair with Nick at a press conference, with Amy's parents. Desi and Amy see the news while Sharon gets wind of it at the same time. Marybeth tells reporters that her and Rand's love for Nick has ended then and there.

Desi and Amy watch Nick's interview with Sharon, while Nick is watching with Margo. Nick convincingly comes off as remorseful for the affair, but he insists that he did not kill his wife. Sharon lets him speak directly into the camera to say something to Amy. He says he loves her and mentions the woodshed (figuratively, apparently as a secret message to Amy) before putting two fingers on his chin, knowing Amy would recognize that. Margo checks the Internet and sees that Nick is trending positive with the public.

Things take an unfortunate turn when Rhonda and other officers show up at Margo's home with a search warrant due to the call about the woodshed. They find all the merchandise from the credit card bill. Both Nick and Margo are taken into custody. Rhonda reads to Nick the pages of Amy's diary, which ends with "This man may truly kill me." Jim brings in the missing Judy mallet from the puppets. It has been burned in their fireplace, but traces of Amy's blood are found on it. Rhonda now has a murder weapon, and arrests Nick. He protests, but Tanner shuts him up.

At Desi's home, Amy learns that Desi has security cameras installed all over the property. She is virtually a prisoner in his home. While he's out at work, she stages what looks like a brutal rape. She soaks her nightgown in red wine, binds her hands and feet, then crawls to the camera, crying, making it look like she's just been raped.

Nick and Margo are released on bond. The media continues to hound them on the way out, now that everyone is convinced Nick is a cold monster. Nick quietly whispers to himself, "Come home, Amy. I dare you."

Amy waits for Desi to come home. She gets a wine bottle and puts it in herself to create injuries. When Desi gets home, Amy seduces him and agrees to run off with him to Greece once the trial is over. They go into the bedroom. She starts taking his clothes off, tearing his shirt open, and they start having sex. Amy demands it to be harder. Desi is caught off guard, once he gives over to the moment, lifting his head to the ceiling, Amy grabs a box cutter she concealed beneath the pillows and slashes his throat. She is drenched in his blood as he dies underneath her. She does look upset about what she's just done.

Nearly a month after Amy's disappearance, Nick looks out his window and sees Amy drive up, still covered in blood. The reporters and neighbours are shocked and begin clamoring around Nick and Amy as she walks up to him. He whispers to her, "You fucking bitch", before she collapses in his arms.

At the hospital, Amy is interviewed by a roomful of police and weaves a story about how Desi kidnapped and raped her before she made her heroic escape. Rhonda asks her questions about the items in Margo's woodshed, but Amy deflects the question and returns to her rape story, while also being heavily medicated on painkillers. The reporters follow her and Nick home, happy that she's alive and that Nick is now vindicated. However, Nick knows something is wrong, and asks her what really happened. Amy forces Nick to disrobe to prove he's not wearing a wire. She goes to the shower to wash off the copious amounts of Desi's blood still covering her. In the shower with Nick, she all but confesses that she framed Desi and murdered him in order to return to Nick as he had requested (and presumably also to make her return seem heroic). Nick sleeps in a separate room and locks the door behind him.

Nick meets with Tanner, Margo, and Rhonda (who now trusts Nick) about this revelation, though without sufficient evidence and with everyone on Amy's side, they cannot prove that she murdered Desi.

Nick and Amy make their first public appearance together at the volunteer center, posing as a happily reunited couple. They are even set to have an interview with Ellen Abbott in their home. As they are getting ready, Amy gives Nick a gift, which is a pregnancy test. It's positive. Nick first says it can't be his, and he'll demand a blood test. Then he realizes that she has retrieved his semen sample, and is using this as a ploy to keep him with her. The tension escalates and he grabs her and slams her head against the wall, calling her a cunt. She tells him she's the same cunt he fell in love with. And she's the only cunt that ever made him feel like a man. Reluctantly, Nick joins Amy hand-in-hand for the interview. During the interview, Amy prods Nick and he says they're going to be parents, when Ellen appears overjoyed and hugs Amy. Margo later finds out about the pregnancy and cries for her brother, and is distraught that he plans to stay with her for the sake of the child for the next 18 years.

The film concludes with a similar shot as the opening, Nick stroking Amy's hair again, wondering to himself just what she's thinking.  

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Storyline

After stealing a mysterious orb in the far reaches of outer space, Peter Quill from Earth, is now the main target of a manhunt led by the villain known as Ronan the Accuser. To help fight Ronan and his team and save the galaxy from his power, Quill creates a team of space heroes known as the "Guardians of the Galaxy" to save the world.

Review

Guardians of the Galaxy is nothing short of an amazing movie. If there's anything I can say, it's that it is the best superhero movie I have seen. Not only does it have the impressive set pieces and enough action to last you a lifetime, it has an emotional core and you actually get to care about each and every single character. Overall this movie is filled with all the required thrills and spills and is a first class action movie. It also has a great mixture of comedic value and a deal of seriousness. 

The film's unlikely hero is Quill (Chris Pratt), an eccentric gunfighter in the Han Solo mould who we meet stealing a metal orb coveted by the evil warlord Ronan. When he dispatches his top assassin, the green- skinned Gamora (Zoe Saldana), to recover the artifact, the pair find themselves locked up, along with the galaxy's most unlikely bounty hunters – a gun-toting raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and his sidekick (Vin Diesel) who just happens to be a walking tree. All the actors do a great job at portraying there characters, they feel real beings. You get to know about them and their struggles and you become attached to them. Every character in the movie got their time to shine, especially Rocket Raccoon who is voiced perfectly by Bradley Cooper. Everyone is pitch perfect in their roles even Batista! 

For those that want specifics: effects were top notch, acting was excellent, story lines were compelling, the comedy was perfect 99.5% of the time and surprise there were a lot of one line typical superhero zingers that worked really well. What really can't be stressed enough is just how insanely fun and entertaining Guardians of the Galaxy is for literally its entire two-hour-plus run-time. I still have a hard time wrestling with who was my favorite actor in this. all in all, the film is brilliantly well done, action scenes are engrossing and genuinely done, you genuinely worry about certain characters and I for one was thrilled with it. Go see this.

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Synopsis

On planet Earth in 1988, young Peter Quill (Wyatt Oleff) sits in the waiting room of a hospital, listening with headphones to "Awesome Mix Tape no. 1" on his Walkman. His grandpa (Gregg Henry) comes out and gets him so he can say goodbye to his mom, who is dying of cancer. His mom gives him a present and tells him his father was an angel and that Peter is just like him. She asks for his hand, but he's too scared to take it. Just then, she dies. The distraught Peter runs outside and is abducted by a spaceship.

Twenty-six years later on the planet Morag, an adult Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-lord (Chris Pratt), is searching for a mysterious Orb whilst listening to Awesome Mix Tape no. 1. He finds the Orb and takes it out of a laser enclosure. Almost immediately, Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and his henchmen find Peter. After a shootout, Peter makes it to his ship, the Milano, and escapes.

His partner/mentor Yondu (Michael Rooker) calls and tells Peter to give him the Orb. Peter decides he's going to sell it on his own.

On the Kree warship the Dark Aster, Korath reports to Ronan (Lee Pace) that he failed in getting the Orb and that it's in the hands of Peter.  Ronan wants the Orb because he can trade it to Thanos in exchange for Thanos destroying Xandar.  

Ronan plans to send Nebula (Karen Gillan) after Peter, but Gamora (Zoe Saldana) volunteers. Over Nebula's complaints, Ronan sends Gamora.

On the planet Xandar, Peter takes the Orb to a broker (Christopher Fairbank) and asks what it is, because Ronan's goons are after it too. On hearing Ronan's name, the broker suddenly doesn't want anything to do with the Orb. He kicks Peter out of his shop. Outside, Gamora jumps Peter and tries to retrieve the Orb herself. Nearby, Rocket Raccoon (voice: Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voice: Vin Diesel) see there's a bounty on Peter's head, so they also try to capture him. (Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as an old man on Xandar, chatting up a young lady. Rocket calls him a pervert.). Its not too long before Peter, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot are arrested by Nova HQ and sent to a space prison called the Kyln.

Pretty much everyone in prison wants to kill Gamora because she's the daughter of Thanos. Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) has a vendetta against her because Ronan killed his wife and daughter, so he wants to avenge them by taking the life of one of Ronan's family members in return. Gamora explains that she's not related to Ronan and she was planning on double crossing him. Peter argues in Gamora's favor.

Meanwhile, at Sanctuary, Ronan reports to Thanos (Josh Brolin) that Gamora is a traitor. Thanos tells him to take care of her and get the Orb. He also notes that Gamora is his favorite daughter, which angers Nebula (his other daughter).

Back at the space prison, Gamora has a plan to sell the Orb to someone else. Peter, Rocket, and Groot agree to help and split the reward. Rocket has a plan to escape the prison. He needs one of the guard's wrist devices, a prisoner's prosthetic leg and a battery from a tall column in the prison. As he explains that it's very important to take the battery last, Groot grabs it first. The alarms go off and security droids fly in. Gamora goes to get a wrist device as Peter negotiates for the prisoner's leg. Drax decides to join in the escape, realizing that eventually Ronan will go after Gamora and then he can kill Ronan himself.

Everyone gets the item they agreed to get, and they all make it to a guard station near the top of the prison. Rocket is surprised that Peter actually got the leg and says that he (Rocket) was only kidding, and he didn't really need it. Just as it seems that they have run out of time, Rocket rigs up the stuff to turn off the gravity in the prison and to use the security droids as jets to fly the guard station out of the prison. They escape, but Peter leaves the others, telling Rocket that he left something behind. It turns out that he is retrieving his Walkman with the Awesome Mix Tape from one of the guards.

Yondu goes to his broker and finds out Peter still has the Orb.

Everyone on Peter's ship gets to know one another better. They don't like each other at all. Soon they arrive at Knowhere (a space station built in the severed head of a former god-like being) to meet with the Collector. While they wait for their appointment, Drax, Rocket, and Groot get drunk and gamble. Gamora and Peter bond over music. He explains that his mom made him the mix tape of her favorite songs. She listens and likes it. He asks her to dance, but she doesn't trust him. He says it reminds him of an old fable about other people who didn't dance. It was called Footloose. He makes a pass at her, but she says she's not one of the doe-eyed girls he's used to and she won't fall for his pelvic sorcery.

Before they can meet with the Collector, Drax, Rocket, and Groot (all drunk) get into a big fight. Drax thinks Groot is dumb and Rocket is tired of people calling him a rodent. Peter talks them out of fighting. The Collector's assistant fetches them and they all go to meet him. Drax goes off on his own and makes a call.

The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) has a giant assortment of collectibles, including many from the Marvel Universe, and even Cosmo the Soviet space dog. The Collector puts the orb into a kind of lathe, which unscrews the two halves of the Orb to reveal an Infinity Stone. The Collector explains that the Infinity Stone is an all-powerful thing. There are more of them and they can destroy planets. The Collector's assistant suddenly grabs the stone. The Infinity Stone is poisoning her, and then she and everything in the area blow up. Most of the people survive, along with Cosmo the Soviet space dog. Peter and the others manage to escape with the Orb holding the Infinity Stone. They decide the safest place to take the stone is Nova Headquarters. It's too dangerous to be anywhere else.

Suddenly the group is ambushed by Ronan and his crew. They find out that Drax called Ronan. Drax was tired of waiting to face Ronan, so he told Ronan where they were. Yondu shows up too. Gamora, Rocket and Quill take off in single passenger ships while Nebula and some of Ronan's goons chase after them. Drax tries to fight Ronan, but gets beaten up badly. Ronan says he doesn't even remember killing Drax's family, nor will he remember killing Drax now.

Nebula chases Gamora's ship above the atmosphere and blows it up. Nebula gets the Infinity Stone and leaves Gamora floating in space to die. Peter realizes that he can't allow Gamora to die, so he calls Yondu to tell him where he is, then exits his ship, and floats to Gamora, where he gives her his mask to keep her alive.

Yondu arrives and collects Peter and Gamora with a tractor beam right before they would have died. This is where we see that Yondu's ship is the same ship that abducted Peter as a child.

Meanwhile, onboard the Dark Aster, Ronan tells Thanos that now that he (Ronan) has the Infinity Stone, he can cut Thanos out of the deal. Instead, he will destroy Xandar himself and then go after Thanos. He puts the Infinity Stone into his hammer.

Back on Yondu's ship, Yondu is going to kill Peter for double-crossing him, but he doesn't when Peter says that he has a plan to get the Orb back. Meanwhile on Knowhere, Drax, Groot, and Rocket decide to join forces and save Peter and Gamora from Yondu. They fly the Milano to Yondu's ship and threaten to blow it up with a special weapon Rocket built unless Yondu releases Peter and Gamora. Peter emerges from the crowd aboard Yondu's ship, and persuades Rocket that he doesn't need to be rescued.

Now on board the Milano, Peter explains that they must prevent Ronan from touching the Infinity Stone to the ground of Xandar, which will wipe out the planet, and that he has a plan to stop Ronan. The others ask Peter if he really has a plan, or if he was lying. He says he has part of a plan. After much discussion, he says that he has 12% of a plan. Everyone scoffs, except Groot who says (translated by Rocket) that this is more than 11% of a plan. Rocket says that they will most likely die if they try to stop Ronan. Peter points out that they've already lost so much, that at this point they have nothing to lose. Slowly, each of them stands up and announces that he will join the fight against Ronan.

Peter warns Nova HQ that Ronan is coming to destroy them and they should get ready, telling them that they should believe his message, because he's not 100% a dick.

Rocket's idea is to blow a hole in Ronan's ship so Peter, Groot, Drax and Gamora can board it. Gamora is going to cut the power for Ronan's security and then they're going to blow him up with a cannon that Rocket made.

They start the plan. Rocket blows a hole in the Dark Aster and then helps Yondu and his men defend Xandar against Ronan's fighter ships. Yondu is shot down. On the ground, told to surrender, he instead uses his arrow weapon to take out an entire platoon of goons.

On the Dark Aster, Gamora and Nebula get into a big fight, while Drax, Peter and Groot go to the bridge of the ship.

Dozens of Nova ships link together to form a giant net and slow the descent of the Dark Aster. Gamora finally beats Nebula, who falls, landing on a Ravager ship and commandeers it, throwing the Pilot of the ship out the window and flying away. Ronan orders his ships to kamikaze into Xandar. Rocket and Yondu's men shoot as many of the ships down as they can.

Almost to the bridge, Drax kills Korrath. Groot grows a long thin branch and impales many goons. He then whips them around taking out even more. Everyone makes it to the bridge to fight Ronan. Again, he's too strong for them, but Peter manages to shoot Ronan with Rocket's super cannon. It does nothing. Rocket crashes the Milano into the bridge and seems to have destroyed Ronan. The entire ship is plummeting towards Xandar, so Groot forms a giant nest around all of them for safety. Rocket is upset because he knows that what Groot is doing will end up killing him. Groot, who up to this point has only said "I Am Groot," responds with "We are Groot."

The ship crashes. Everyone except Groot is okay. Groot is a pile of twigs strewn all about. The battle isnot over though, because Ronan is still fine. He sarcastically calls Peter and his crew the Guardians of the Galaxy. As he raises his hammer for a final blow, Quill stands up and starts to dance to the song "Ooh-ooh Child," and challenges Ronan to a dance-off. Ronan asks what he's doing. Peter responds "distracting you" as Drax and Rocket shoot Ronan's hammer at Ronan, releasing the Infinity Stone. Peter grabs the Infinity Stone before Ronan. Peter starts to be affected in the same way as the Collector's assistant. Holding the stone is going to kill him, but Gamora tells him to take her hand. He flashes back to when he didn't have the courage to take his mom's hand, and he now grabs Gamora's. Drax and Rocket hold hands with the others, and the power from the Infinity Stone is spread among the four of them, and they all survive. They kill Ronan. Rocket collects one of the sticks that was once Groot.

Yondu appears and demands the Stone as per his original deal with Peter. Peter hands him the Orb. As Yondu and his men take off, one of them notes that he likes Peter and he's glad they didn't take him back to his dad like they were supposed to all those years ago.

Gamora is upset that Peter gave up the stone. Peter reveals that he switched the Orbs, and he still has the one with the stone.

At Nova HQ, they turn over the Orb that contains the Infinity Stone and Peter learns he's only half human and half something ancient and unknown. They speculate that his nonhuman genes allowed him to hold the Infinity Stone without dying.

There is a party on Yondu's ship. His crew is celebrating but Yondu looks suspiciously at the Orb and then decides to open it. In it is a troll doll. He smiles.

Peter finally opens the present his mom gave him before she died. It's a cassette labeled "Awesome Mix Tape no. 2." He asks the Guardians where they want to go. Gamora says, "You lead, Star-lord." He asks if they want something good or something bad. He then decides they should do something that is both. Rocket holds a pot in which he has stuck the stick that he retrieved after Groot's sacrifice. We can see the face of a tiny Groot on the stick.

End Credits

During the credits, the baby Groot (slightly larger than in the previous scene) dances in his pot to Quill's 1980s music, with Drax in the background. The baby Groot stops when Drax looks at him, but he starts again when Drax looks away.

After the credits: The Collector is sitting on the wreckage, drinking, when Cosmo the Soviet space dog comes up and licks his face. We hear a voice that says that's gross. The camera turns to reveal Howard the Duck sitting on a broken cage, drinking as well.

Divergent (2014)

Storyline

Set in a futuristic dystopia where society is divided into five factions that each represent a different virtue, teenagers have to decide if they want to stay in their faction or switch to another - for the rest of their lives. Tris Prior makes a choice that surprises everyone. Then Tris and her fellow faction-members have to live through a highly competitive initiation process to live out the choice they have made. They must undergo extreme physical and intense psychological tests, that transform them all. But Tris has a secret that she is Divergent, which means she doesn't fit into any one group. If anyone knew, it would mean a certain death. As she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly peaceful society, this secret might help her save the people she loves... or it might destroy her.

Review

The main problem from Divergent is that its premise is too far-fetched, improbable and illogical. If the story had been ingenious enough to justify so many conditions and unearthly circumstances, there wouldn't have been any problem. But no... this is simply another juvenile tale about the typical main character who must overcome her insecurity when she finds out she's "special", and her actions escalate until she practically saves the world... without forgetting, of course, the "unexpected" romance in the road to her destiny. Well, I'm speculating about saving the world. Divergent is based on a series of "young adult" novels I haven't read (and I will never do so), and the producers obviously expect to shoot sequels, so this first film establishes the (absurd) post-apocalyptic world, the bland characters and the obligatory conspiracy in which NOTHING IS LIKE IT SEEMS (translation: everything is exactly like it seems, from the predictable villain to the gallant who starts being a hateful lout, until he softens himself and shows his romantic side). In other words, a simpleton and innocuous teenage fantasy made for female spectators; and another attempt to create the saga which will inherit the crown from The Hunger Games... something which isn't precisely bad. Divergent was made for a very specific audience, and I sincerely hope that the female fans of the novels are left satisfied by this film. For the rest, the production values are pretty high, the special effects are competent and the cast is composed in a big part by attractive multi-cultural young people who seem taken from a catalogue of Urban Outfitters (what a luck for the post- apocalyptic world). I don't know how the casual spectators can take Divergent; in my personal experience, it bored me very much (specially during the "exciting" conclusion full of action), but I'm very far from belonging to this film's objective audience. Each one will know his/her posture and tolerance to this kind of film; I personally regret having wasted my time and my money on it.

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Synopsis

The sun rises over a field in a futuristic Chicago. A rusty old ship rests on land, seemingly deserted for ages. Lake Michigan appears to be mostly dried up. We move to the rest of the area, where people are walking around wearing uniforms of identical colors to match their place of living. Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) explains that after a great war, society was divided into five separate areas called factions to maintain order.

The Erudite faction is for the smartest and most logical-thinking people. They dress in a dark shade of blue.

The Amity faction is meant for the kind and peaceful. They grow crops and provide for other factions. They dress in orange and yellow.

The Candor faction values honesty, and they dress in black and white.

The most fearless go to the Dauntless faction. They are the protectors of the nation, and they are known for their bravery as much as they are known for their crazy behavior. Their uniforms are black.

Beatrice and her family reside in the Abnegation faction. They wear light grey clothes and are selfless and do not value power, giving them the nickname "Stiffs." They provide for the factionless, those who have no place to call home (basically the homeless population of the city). Because of this selfless demeanor, Abnegation forms the city's government. Beatrice's father Andrew (Tony Goldwyn) works closely with the Abnegation leader Marcus Eaton (Ray Stevenson). Her main concern is that she does not know where she really belongs.

Beatrice's mother Natalie (Ashley Judd) cuts her hair and only allows her a brief amount of time to see her reflection to avoid vanity. It is the day of Beatrice's aptitude test, along with her twin brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), in which they will find out which faction they are best suited for. She asks her mother if she was nervous when she took her test. Natalie says 'No. I was terrified.'

Beatrice and Caleb go to the station where other 16-year-olds from the other factions are taking their aptitude tests. A Candor member, named Peter (Miles Teller), mocks the Abnegation kids and blames them for the dwindling supplies. Beatrice continues to wonder just where she will fit in. After the kids are all put through a brief history of the test and its origins, she gets up to take the test, monitored by a woman named Tori (Maggie Q). She puts Beatrice in a chair and has her drink a blue serum to start the test. Beatrice closes her eyes and then opens them to find herself alone, with Tori no longer standing by her side. She gets up and sees her reflection. She keeps turning her head and sees more and more reflections. Then there appears to be a rabid dog. It growls at Beatrice and then runs toward her. She closes her eyes and then sees it as a puppy. Her younger self appears, wanting to play with the puppy. It reverts to its mangy dog form, running to attack the little Beatrice. The older one runs after the dog, and they sink through the floor. Beatrice awakens with a jolt. Tori is in a panicked state. Beatrice asks her what the results were. Tori says they were inconclusive. According to the results, Beatrice is suited for Abnegation, but also Erudite and Dauntless. This is a rare case, known as Divergent; being suited for more than one faction. Tori tells her to go home and say she was sick from the serum.

When Beatrice gets home, she is hesitant to tell her family what her results were. She just says she got Abnegation again. Andrew says that he needs to resolve matters with Abnegation as there is trouble going on with the faction's helping of the factionless, as well as a rumor being spread that Marcus hit his own son. It's also hinted that Erudite wants to be the ruling faction, instead of Abnegation.

The day of the Choosing Ceremony arrives. The Prior kids meet the Erudite leader, Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet). It is suggested that someone in Erudite (most likely her) has been spreading the rumor about Marcus. Once the ceremony commences, the new initiates step up to a table with five bowls and a knife. They cut their hands and give a drop of blood into these bowls to choose their factions. Caleb chooses Erudite. There is scattered applause in Abnegation but the Erudite members proudly welcome him. Beatrice goes up, nervous. She cuts her hand and almost drops blood into Abnegation, but then decides on Dauntless. Her parents are surprised, and the Dauntless members welcome her. The initiates leave with their factions, and Beatrice looks at her mother one last time.

Beatrice arrives in the Dauntless faction with all the other initiates. They run wild, climbing to the top of the elevated train tracks and chasing after the train as it goes so they can hop onto it before it's too late. Beatrice meets a Candor initiative, named Christina (Zoe Kravitz). They then have to jump off the moving train onto a rooftop. Dauntless leader Eric (Jai Courtney) gathers everyone over the edge of the rooftop for them to jump into a hole. He asks for a volunteer to go first, and Beatrice steps forward. After some hesitation, she jumps into the hole and lands on a net. She is pulled out by Dauntless instructor Four (Theo James). He asks for her name, and she decides to call herself 'Tris'. When everybody else comes down, he leads the initiates to The Pit, where everybody is having fun and they get to eat. There, Tris meets an Erudite initiative named Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) and Christina's friend from Candor, Al (Christian Madsen). Another Dauntless leader, Max (Mekhi Phifer), comes out to greet the initiatives and welcome them to Dauntless. The initiatives, including Tris and Christina, get carried away proudly.

The initiates are given new all-black Dauntless clothing and set to begin training for them to prove they are worthy of staying in Dauntless. Eric warns them that if they fail to reach the top ranks, they will be kicked out of Dauntless and stay factionless, unable to return to their old homes. The first stage of training is combat where the initiatives fight against each other. Tris is put up against the last person to jump into the hole, a girl named Molly (Amy Newbold). Molly beats Tris easily. Additionally, she does not fare well in shooting practice or other tests. Four and Eric sneer at Tris and doubt her ability to keep up. To cheer her up, Christina, Will, and Al take her to a parlor to get tattoos. There, Tris finds Tori and follows her, even though it looks like she's trying to avoid her. She warns Tris that she shouldn't have chosen Dauntless as her new faction, because there are people looking for Divergents. She gives Tris a tattoo of three flying birds.

Tris practices fighting on a punching bag, with Four coming to watch. He tells her she's weak, but fast, and her moves won't work. He positions her properly and gives her tips on what moves she should use. Meanwhile, Christina is fighting Molly, getting beaten pretty badly. Christina is knocked to the floor and recoils from Molly, pleading for no more. Eric asks Christina if she wants to give up, and she says yes. He helps her on her feet and guides her somewhere. They walk over a bridge that stands over a deep chasm. Eric asks her if she's feeling better and then pushes her off the bridge. Christina grabs onto it for dear life, and Eric times her to make a choice - hang on and he will forget her cowardice, let go and die, or give up and force herself out of the faction. She almost slips off until the time is up, and she's still hanging on. Tris and Four pull her out as she cries. Eric reminds them that Dauntless cannot be afraid of anything nor can they ever give up.

The initiates then practice throwing knives at targets. Al throws his knife weakly and it doesn't hit anywhere close to the target. Eric tells him to go get it, but Al refuses to as everybody is throwing their knives. Eric stops everybody and forces Al to stand in front of the target. Before Eric throws his knife, Tris tells him that this won't prove anything. Eric makes her take Al's place. Four grabs four knives to throw. He throws the first one far away from Tris, but gets closer with each knife until he throws the last one close enough to cut Tris's ear. After the practice, she tells Four that he cut her, but he says Eric wouldn't have let her out of there if she was left without a scratch. The other initiatives, including Molly, congratulate Tris. Peter approaches her to congratulate her sarcastically while adding that there is a news report on both Tris and Caleb and their both choosing to leave Abnegation for other factions.

The next day, Jeanine and a couple of Erudite Council members go into Dauntless, as it is implied they are searching for the Divergents. Tris never reveals her status, but Jeanine tells her to let her know if she needs anything.

Tris is set up to fight against Peter. Four reminds her of the moves he told her about, which is to dodge her opponent's move and go for his throat first. Four also tells Tris that Peter always steps in before striking. Peter, being significantly bigger than Tris, has something of an upper hand, but Tris hits him in the throat as planned. However, he still ends up beating her hard, knocking her down, and then knocks her out with a stomp to the face.

When she wakes up, Tris sees Christina and Will standing by her side with black jackets. Will tells Tris she's been out for a day and that Eric has decided to cut her from the faction. Her friends leave to join the other Dauntless initiates on the moving train. Tris, not ready to be thrown out, runs after the train and hops on. Eric is slightly impressed by her determination and allows her to join in on their game. Both Eric and Four gather up members for their team in an extreme version of Capture The Flag, with everyone carrying guns full of darts that simulate the pain of a gunshot. They are all taken to an abandoned amusement park, are divided into two opposing sides, and Four's team tries to come up with strategies on taking the other team down. Tris appears to want to say something, but impatient with all the discussion she simply acts alone to get an idea of where their opponents' flag & forces are from a better, higher vantage point. So she begins to climb the huge Ferris Wheel. Four follows her, though he looks uneasy climbing up. Tris realizes that he's afraid of heights. They get their view on the other team and lead their team into an smart attack. Together, Tris and Four shoot through Peter and Eric, and Tris takes Molly down, and with Christina they gain the flag and emerge victorious. As part of a final Dauntless initiation, Tris joins the others on a crazy zipline over the city. She pulls the braking cable just before she hits the wall at the end of the line.

The next day, the Dauntless initiates are taking in bags of supplies from Amity and loading them onto trucks. Tris sees a light flashing in her eyes as if somebody is trying to get her attention. She walks behind the trucks and finds her mother had signaled. They hug. Natalie asks Tris if she really got Dauntless for her aptitude test. She admits her results were inconclusive. Natalie warns her not to let anybody know about this and to be safe, because Erudite is hunting down Divergents, believing they are a threat to their system since they do not conform to just one faction and are capable of free-thinking. Tris then asks Natalie if she was Dauntless. She leaves before answering.

Tris's ranking rises above the dreaded red line, keeping her right above Al. Her current position is #20. The next stage of training is a simulation room to test out the initiates' control of their fears. Molly walks out of the room, shaking and trembling. Four oversees Tris's test. As the simulation begins, Tris sees herself in a field outside a town, behind a fence near the Amity faction. A flock of crows fly over her and swoop down to attack Tris. She tries to run but gets stuck in mud. The crows surround her, but she tells herself "This isn't real," and she swims into what looks like a puddle but actually holds a larger body of water. Tris is snapped out of the simulation. Four asks her how she got out of there so quickly. She only lasted three minutes, quicker than most initiates. Tris says she just got into the water. Her second simulation has her coming up to her friends, but she is trapped by an invisible wall. Christina appears to laugh at her and then talks to Peter. Tris realizes she is in a tank that slowly fills up with water. It starts to fill up to the top until she is completely submerged. She sees her reflection and once again tells herself, "This isn't real." She taps the glass lightly, but it somehow causes a big crack before finally breaking completely. She wakes up from the simulation again, and Four once more questions how she got out of there so fast. He's noticeably suspicious, and tells Tris that no Dauntless has ever completed the simulation so quickly.

Tris goes to visit Tori. She reveals to Tris that her brother George was Divergent but he chose Dauntless as his faction. When he was found out, he was dropped into the chasm.

Tris goes to Erudite headquarters to visit Caleb. The other Erudite members look at her with surprise to see a Dauntless member in there. Tris tells Caleb that she thinks Erudite is planning to take over the other factions, starting with Abnegation. Caleb, now acting and thinking like a real Erudite, agrees, but maintains his devotion to his faction over his family ("faction over blood"). Tris tearfully leaves when she realizes her brother won't help her. She is stopped by two Erudite officials trying to take her in. She punches one of them and tries attacking the other when Jeanine stops them. She takes Tris into her office to refresh her. Jeanine reminds her of the need to maintain a balance in the system, as well as peace.

When Tris returns to Dauntless, she is caught by three masked guys. They carry her and nearly throw her into the chasm, but she fights herself out. She unmasks one of them, shocked to see it is Al. She fights them off and Four comes in to her rescue. He tends to her wounds, and she expresses disbelief that Al would attack her. Four says it's because he's trying to boost his ranks since he knows he's close to getting kicked out. Later, when everybody is eating in The Pit, Al tries to apologize to Tris for what he did. She tells him to leave her alone and that she'll kill him if he touches her. Afterwards, Tris and Christina come across the chasm where some Dauntless members are pulling out a body. It's Al, having jumped to his death out of guilt. Tris feels somewhat responsible for this. Tris admits to Four she isn't sure she'll pass her final testing either. When Four asks why, Tris says that Four knows she is Divergent. Four acknowledges that he knows, and says he's going to help her.

Four brings Tris into the simulation room where he lets her get inside his mind to show her his fears. They start off high above the city, simulating Four's fear of heights. Tris suggests they jump because it's not real, but Four says that's something a Divergent would do. They need to overcome their fears the way a Dauntless would. They walk carefully over to the tower nearby to continue. They become trapped inside a vent, simulating Four's fear of containment. The walls start closing in on the two of them. They discover some nails and wedge them into the wall-floor joint. This stops the walls from crushing them. Four's next fear has him being forced to execute a factionless girl, but he cannot look at her with his gun aimed at her. Only by looking away can he fire. Finally, he and Tris find themselves in Abnegation - Four's original faction. They're in a house. Coming down the stairs is Marcus, holding a belt. Tris realizes that Four is Marcus's son, Tobias Eaton. Marcus walks over with the belt to hit Four, but Tris fights him off, and the simulation ends. Tris and Four walk onto the balcony of his apartment. She realizes he is "Four" because of his four fears. He shows her the tattoos on his back. He has the symbols of each faction on his back. Four states that he doesn't want to belong to just one faction. He wants to be kind, fearless, honest, selfless, and intelligent. This hints that he, too, is Divergent. The two of them kiss.

Later, Four shows Tris a few Erudite members bringing in supplies. He shows her a vial of an orange serum that is being used to make people more prone to suggestion.

Tris's final test comes, with Jeanine and other Erudite members, along with the Dauntless members, watching her. She is sat down in a chair and is told that her hallucinations will be viewed on monitors. Her previous fears come back to her. She is almost attacked by crows again, but this time, she doesn't jump in the water. She sees the field catching fire and grabs a burning branch to scare off the birds. Tris suddenly finds that she's tied up and lashed to a stake among the burning field. She thrusts her bound wrists down so the fire burns the ropes, and then plunges her hands into the water as soon as she's free. Next, she is back in the glass tank that fills up with water. Instead of breaking the glass, she takes off her jacket and plugs the pipe that sends the water in. She then finds herself in Four's room. He goes to kiss her, but then gets aggressive. He throws her onto the bed as if to rape her, so she kicks him in the groin and throws him off. Tris appears to wake up from the simulation, hoping Four didn't see the last bit. Jeanine comes over to hand Tris a gun as her parents and Caleb walk in. Jeanine tells Tris that she knows what to do. Tris refuses, but then hesitantly aims the gun at somebody (we don't see who) and she pulls the trigger. This snaps her out of the simulation.

Tris is officially a Dauntless member. She and the other new members, including Will and Christina, are suited up and given guns as they line up for a mission. The Dauntless members are injected with a tracking device in case anybody gets lost, but Tris realizes they've actually been injected with the mind-control serum. As the Dauntless board the elevated train, Max and Eric see a man wandering out of line, uncertain of who to follow, leading them to realize he is a Divergent. Eric tells the man everything will be fine before he shoots him in the head. As the train carries the Dauntless, Tris very slowly and stealthily slips through the crowd until she is standing beside Four, and he takes hold of her hand. They are brought into the Abnegation neighborhood, ready to attack and round up the residents. The Dauntless members round up the Abnegation members, but Tris and Four refuse to join in the chaos. They are found out by Max and Eric, who conclude that both Tris and Four are Divergent. Eric aims his gun at Four, but Tris holds hers to Eric. Max aims at her, and Four aims at him. Tris and Four incapacitate both leaders and make a run for it, evading other antagonistic Dauntless members. They are then captured and brought to Jeanine. She recognizes Four as Tobias Eaton. He tries to attack her, but her guards hold him back. She has Four taken away while she orders Tris to be executed in a back alley. Before the villains can shoot her, they are shot by Natalie. She rescues her daughter, and Tris realizes that her mother was indeed a former Dauntless. They take their weapons to defend themselves. Will shoots at Tris and Natalie, and Tris has to kill him. She is upset that she had to do it, but her mother comforts her.

More Dauntless members appear to shoot at Tris and Natalie as they make a run for it. They fight back, but Natalie is shot in the side and quickly dies. Tris holds her mother and cries. She goes to find her father and Caleb in a safe house. She cries to her father, mourning Natalie's death. Caleb mourns as well, having left Erudite after realizing their corruption. Tris tells them that the serum Erudite gave the Dauntless members is controlling them into attacking the Abnegation members; part of a plot to usurp control of government from the Abnegation faction. To stop this, they must infiltrate the Dauntless fortress. Tris leads them away.

Tris guides Andrew and Caleb, and another fighter, to the train that takes them to Dauntless. They jump off the train onto the rooftop and down into the hole. Tris finds Peter and forces him to tell them where the fortress is after shooting him. The heroes encounter more controlled Dauntless members. Andrew shoots at them and kills them, but he is shot and also dies quickly. Caleb cries over his father, and Tris briefly mourns him as well. She continues moving until she finds the room with Jeanine and others, ready to complete the controlling of the Dauntless. all ready to kill many of the Abnegation members. Some of the Dauntless have already begun killing some Abnegation members off. Tris sees that Four has also been injected with the serum, controlling him to attack Tris. She fights back, but Four outfights her easily. Tris repeatedly tries to remind him who she is. She grabs a gun and points it at him, but then she turns it around to her own head. She continues to reassure Four, "It's okay, I love you." As Four takes hold of the handle of the gun, ready to kill Tris, she gently keeps his face turned toward her. This helps Four to fight back against the serum and throw off its effects. Four helps Tris fight off the villains. Jeanine tries to finish the process, but Tris throws a knife that pierces Jeanine's hand. Tris orders her to stop the process, and Jeanine refuses, saying she's willing to die for her cause. Four grabs a gun with a vial of the serum and puts it together. Jeanine snarls, "Guess you're not as Dauntless as you thought." Tris replies, "You're right. I'm Divergent." Four throws her the gun and she injects Jeanine with the suggestion serum, forcing her to release the Dauntless members from their control and then wipe the computer, erasing the program. After recovering from the serum and realizing what she'd been forced to do, Jeanine tries to attack Tris with her knife, but Tris knocks her out cold.

Four reunites with Marcus, his father, and he is obviously uneasy. Despite this, both Marcus and Caleb join Tris and Four as they board the train heading out of Dauntless. Tris is sad over the loss of her parents and she still doesn't know where she belongs. Four says he does know.

Tris narrates again, saying that they feel like the factionless, having lost their homes and loved ones. However, they will continue to fight if they must.

The film concludes as the train takes them outside the city wall to Amity.