Jared Berg
Sports Editor
I saw Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, and it didn’t entirely suck. I would never miss a chance to see Skins star Kaya Scodelario in a dystopian world, but it was immediately clear that Trials’ Teresa is dramatically different from Skins’ Effy. Scodelario’s forced American accent is sub-par and her character grating, but despite the film’s main draw being flat, I still had a surprisingly good time.
Why? Despite society’s misconception of YA-lit film as amateurish and childish, Trials was chock full of artistic talent, hopefully enough to force many of us (myself included) to reconsider the genre.
Game of Thrones actor Aidan Gillen, who also starred in HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire, portrays a character eerily similar to Thrones’ Littlefinger in Scorch Trials. Gillen is a tremendous actor who filled his role of scheming evil adult (sound familiar?) with great aptitude.
Elsewhere, the Thrones influence was on further display with Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei from Thrones) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Jojen Reed from Thrones) appearing in starring roles.
The cast also includes past Emmy nominees such as Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Patricia Clarkson (Six Feet Under) and Barry Pepper (The Kennedys). Even Firefly’s Alan Tudyk makes a brief appearance to warm the hearts of nerds everywhere.
All in all, this cast list wouldn’t look out of place in any awards-season critical hit. I understand the criticisms that condemn screenplays like these, but it sure feels that these movies should be given a fairer shot then they typically get when you consider the level of talent on display.
YA-lit produces more than its fair share of horrendous cinema, but that doesn’t mean that we should discount the genre. To paint with so wide a brush ultimately denigrates as many decent films as it does bad ones.
Sure, the screenplays can range from contrived and predictable to downright abysmal, but the acting and aesthetic can be quite the opposite. The pedigree on display in Trials isn’t an isolated event; take Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the Hunger Games franchise, for example. It’s clear that tremendous talents feel that this genre deserves respect, or at least proper attention, within the cinematic community.
In response to my viewing of The Scorch Trials, here is my plea to all who denounce YA-lit and film: give it a fighting chance. Don’t live by Rotten Tomatoes or what the awards shows say. While it’s true that you aren’t watching Casablanca and that the critics are pissed off because they didn’t get put on a more reputable assignment, don’t judge these films on some monolithic rating scale. They’re different, and their target audience is different.
If you try to reevaluate the genre and find that it’s just not for you, which very well might be the case, no harm done. Just make sure that when you judge the droves of teenagers flocking to these films, you do so recognizing that what they’re seeing might actually be quite good.