This movie series is surprisingly good. They're not outstanding, but there are certain things they do remarkably well, and they're never dull to sit through. One particularly noteworthy aspect to me was the excellent effects work, both practical and digital. The budgets for each film in the trilogy ranged from around $30-$60 million, and they're very effects-heavy films, yet the effects were very impressive all across the board, outmatching most $200 million films. I've noticed that when VFX artists begin directing, they're sometimes able to exceed the visuals of blockbusters even on sub-million-dollar budgets, and it turns out Wes Ball's career began in VFX as well.

I can't sing the highest praise for these movies, but they're still very impressive. The first one can be real goofy, with the way the boys assign special nouns to everything. "The sun's going down, soon The Blackening will be upon us. If you rest your head on your pillow, you'll begin what we call The Slumbering." The movie is still fun though, aided by its great direction. The second film's narrative is pretty messy, but again, still made for a fun ride. The third movie was probably my favorite. You can definitely see the passion that went into the series, and often that's enough for me to have a great time. The cast is compelling as well, even though I don't believe there were any particularly rounded characters, and Thomas (the lead character, not the actor) is characterized mostly by how serious and straight-faced he is. The *actor* Thomas (Brodie-Sangster), who plays Newt, the only English person in America, gives the highlight performance.

I'd say these deserve to stand beside something like The Hunger Games as an example of a well-done adaptation of young adult novels. Also, I still find it funny that the Divergent series was cancelled *after they made part one of their two-parter finale.* I don't mean to end such a positive post with negativity, but lmao Divergent. To their credit, those movies at least aren't lacking in entertainment value, though maybe only if you're watching somewhat ironically.

Fine movie, I guess. A mix of Cube and Hunger Games.