Paul Schrader was once wrote, “I could be just a writer very easily. I am not a writer. I am a screenwriter, which is half a filmmaker. … But it is not an art form, because screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art.” I believe his statement was somewhat incomplete, because it fails to include the now ubiquitous adaptation. If a screenplay is an invitation to collaborate, a novel is quite possibly just a jump off point to something completely new. I’ve watched that unfold time and again, most egregiously with World War Z–that is until I saw the Scorch Trials.
Our departure from the original text begins with the fade in. The names of the characters here mostly remains intact, but the situations are changed, at first to pump up the action, but largely to spin an entirely new story based around strange infected creatures that resemble the vampire/zombies from I am Legend. Reused and updated CGI aside, the film fails to generate the spooky fun of the maze in this larger, less understandable world. The result is chases that are fun but pointless and dialogue that tries to be highly expositional about a plot that never really needed the help.
That isn’t entirely true. As we wind deeper into the film it becomes clear that the massive changes made lend themselves to continuing and punching up the series as it moves towards what will likely be a two-part conclusion. The original text didn’t allow for that. Still, the changes eliminate a lot of the theme, leaving us with strange Groot-zombies to deal with.
Some Thoughts:
- I can tick off my writing and academic responsibilities on one hand. That’s new and wonderful.
- Big loss in the youth tackle league. I cannot say I’m surprised. Angry. Not surprised.
- Slow start for soccer too. We won 3-0 and our defense looked good but we had a lot of issues on offense.
- Cat is in heat and trying to claw her way out of the house to get some ‘action’. I held off on the spay till after she is done milking but that might have to change. No need for pregnancy 2.0