4 Cliche Things Every Dystopian Young Adult Movie Does

Nope, these are not images from one depressing-ass movie about the worst high school prom in existence -- they're four separate movies. And despite the fact that most are set in futures where hovercrafts are a thing, for some reason the characters always have to travel by fucking train. Here's an example from the first Hunger Games:

Lionsgate Films
They changed this from the horse buggy in the novel.

And the second one:

Lionsgate Films
They finally arrive at the station in the third movie.

And again in Divergent:

Summit Entertainment
"No Wi-Fi? This truly is a hell world."

Heaven forbid they fly to their destinations, which might cut down on the two-and-a-half-hour runtime all of these movies insist on having.

Then there's Maze Runner, which features a hugely monstrous, sword-wielding ear of corn that ... nah, just kidding, it's a giant fucking maze. A maze teenagers must get through while being chased by something that wants to eat them.

20th Century Fox
Is it Pac-Man? Because this looks like Pac-Man.

And finally, there's the actual Hunger Games from The Hunger Games, where the only outcomes are death or PTSD. At least teens in the future have a reason for being whiny.

Divergent brought in Kate Winslet to portray villain and head of all factions Jeanine Matthews, a role that was made more prominent in the movie just for her:

Summit Entertainment
"Wait, where the hell is Jennifer Lawrence? Did I sign up for the wrong one?"

And The Giver threw down the gauntlet in this category, not only giving us six-time Academy Award nominee Jeff Bridges ...

The Weinstein Company
And 12-time supporting winner, Jeff Bridges' beard.

... but the head honcho is somehow played by Meryl Fucking Streep, who we're pretty sure lives in the Kodak Theater by now.

The Weinstein Company
"I could just show a Vine of this scene and get a nomination."

At least those books actually have a word akin to fire in their title, but what's up with this burning eyeball on the cover of Divergent?

HarperCollins
Sauron gets royalties for this, right?

And check out all this hot flaming action happening in the soon-to-be-adapted Witch & Wizard series:

Little, Brown and Company
"Two down, 24 dull rehashes to go."

Finally, The Giver has a non-burning cover, since it came out in the '90s ...

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
When the trend was "hobo-chic."

... but since then, it's replaced the old dude with a crimson vortex, presumably to please the gods of the young adult dystopian adaptations.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Next step: books that spontaneously burst into flames.

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