Review of 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials'

2nd film in the 'Maze Runner' series

Having escaped from the maze in the first film (“The Maze Runner”), Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and his fellow “Gladers” find themselves guests in their rescuer's holding facility. They soon realize that things may not be as they seem so they escape into the “scorch”: A hostile barren waste populated by the zombie-like infected “Cranks” which is what remains of the planet. WCKD is an agency seeking to extract a cure for the virus that has wiped out the population from those that are imune, such as the Gladers, unfortunately their method means the cure must be extracted from their lifeless bodies.

The Gladers are told that a group of resistance fighters, “The Right Arm”, are hidden in the mountains so they seek them out. They come across a group of survivors headed up by a man called Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito) who tells them he can take them to the Cranks but before he can do so WCKD invades their hideout and the Gladers are separated as they flee the destruction. Thomas and Brenda (Rosa Salazar), the adopted daughter of Jorge, continue the trip to meet “The Right Arm” but are soon trapped by Marcus (Alan Tudyk) who is also in league with WCKD. Will they be able to find “The Right Arm” and bring the fight to WCKD?

The second instalment in this franchise (with the ending leaving little doubt there will be a third movie) sees the Gladers out of the maze and beginning to fight back against the mysterious WCKD. In a way, I am sorry to see the maze go as it was quite an amazing looking and interesting aspect of the first film. Here we learn a lot more about what has happened to the planet as the mystery unfolds which is also a bit of a shame as it is more interesting when we are completely in the dark - but it does move the story forward. The acting, such as it is (scream, run, run, run, scream, etc) is acceptable of such a young cast. The sets and effects are amazing with some of the set pieces particularly incredible - A scene where they are struggling on top of a slanted floor in a skyscraper precariously tilted a large distance above the ground is of particular note.

Though you could watch this without having seen the first I would suggest you would get a lot more out of it if you have seen “The Maze Runner”. Fast paced, good, action fun.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2016-02-10

Directed by: Wes Ball

Studio: Gotham Group

Year: 2015

Length: 132 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4046784/

• The Maze Runner (2014)
• Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

• The Maze Runner (2014)
• Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)