Review of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) by Maksim B — 10 Dec 2015

An action-packed young-adult adaptation, rather than the mysterious adventure which its predecessor was, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is an anticipated, but partially disappointing second installment to 20th Century Fox's franchise. The sequel loses the mystery effect and focuses on pure action, unconvincing zombies and mild thriller which are not enough to maintain the level achieved by the first movie.

The story continues from where the original movie finished - right after the boys led by Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) the maze and find themselves in the hands of other survivors. Pretty soon it becomes clear that they are again in the hands of WCKD and unless they find a way to escape from the test compound they are in, they would soon be dead. Thomas and the rest find a way to escape and head towards a group of rebels their heard about. Basically the whole story develops around the group around Thomas and their chasers.

The main problem Wes Ball's delivery is that the charm of the first movie is simply gone. The mystery is partially revealed, the story turns into a sort of young-adult action without a convincing social context and if the action is still good enough, the rebels themselves could hardly be convincing as well. So, to sum it up, The Scorch Trials could be considered as a passable home entertainment which should be regarded as a lesser delivery in the franchise and which is to be a bridge towards hopefully a much better third movie.