Review of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) by Jools A — 11 Nov 2015

The sequel to The Maze Runner in 2014 feels like an inordinate filler for the first and the upcoming last installments of the dystopian sci-fi adventure based on the trilogy novel of the same name by James Dashner.

First installment opens with adequate action to thrill, with a good amount of mystery, as the protagonist Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) wakes up in an elevator with no memory of who he is, and teams up with the rest of his newfound friends to escape the treacherous maze they are all trapped in. The second installment which is helmed by the returning director James Dashner, breaks down all the walls of the labyrinth and finds Thomas and the rest of the Gladers breaking free and setting off across crumbling city sets. Seemingly more avenue to expound on the story, the film somehow eventually dilutes into an excessive series of running and chasing, without getting us anywhere. For a film that is slightly more than 2 hours of length, there is surprisingly very little development of the main characters. Even with the addition of new casts none of them made any significant mark to the story.

"The Scorch Trials" is at best an entertaining thriller, I particularly enjoyed the heart-thumping scene where Thomas and his new friend, Brenda (Rosa Salazar) ruffle with a Crank (breed of blood-spewing zombies) in the sideways-toppled skyscraper. Dashner however completely overlooks the danger of the "middle-movie fatigue" which plagues most trilogy films, and ignores that the audience really want more than just a series of running and chasing in the sun, in the dilapidated mall, more running through hallways, and again running through the the lighting storms. It essentially makes "The Scorch Trials" a big-fat filler before the showdown in 2017's "the Death Cure".