Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

They should come up with a name for this genre of books/films. I am starting to get tired of extraordinary youthful characters revolting against the adults in power. It became popular with "Harry Potter" and even starting with "Star Wars" before that. More recently; we have similar franchises such as "The Hunger Games" & "Divergent" trying to achieve the same level of success. Despite efforts to come across as original, these latest franchises aren't doing enough. In terms of "The Maze Runner" trilogy, the first film was sufficiently original for my taste. I couldn't even tell that it was part of this genre. But "The Scorch Trials" (although slightly better than the preceding film), also did not do enough to set its franchise apart from others similar to it. The story introduced elements that I wasn't expecting and therefore moved the franchise too much into a new direction. When you make a sequel, you are riding a fine line between replicating the first installment and adding changes for originality sake. What's even more difficult is that depending on the franchise and where in the franchise the sequel takes place, that fine line could be anywhere along the spectrum. For the seventh Harry Potter movie for example, we had spent the previous six episodes in the same location and so being on the road plus on the run worked very well. In the case of "The Maze Runner" franchise, because "The Scorch Trials" is the second installment, the audience members who haven't read the books are not ready for drastic changes from the first adventure. This sequel is out of the maze and up against multiple threats that were not present in the first story. Most of these faults I have mentioned however are those of the original book. The adaptation appears to be pretty good.

The best element of the first story was the mystery. Now that we know the reason for the maze, did the second film introduce a new plot device of equal power to replace that mystery? The answer is no because instead we get a story similar to that of "The Deathly Hallows: Part 1" and "Mockingjay-Part 1". "The Scorch Trials" could have been solely about trying to escape the WCKD facility because that plot is closer to the aforementioned fine line of the new and the old. You would have another escape story but in a different location. The time at Janson's facility was too short and the characters start running again a little too soon. At the start of "The Maze Runner", Thomas and the audience have time to get familiar to their new surroundings. While the first film had a better narrative structure, the second one had more action. That is probably why I enjoyed "The Scorch Trials" a tad bit more in addition to the fact that once you know the secret of the first movie, it isn't quite as good the next time you watch it. I will admit that I didn't expect this to be a zombie franchise. That was one change from the first story that didn't replace the Grievers very well. Zombies have a danger of being cliche but the Grievers had some originality to them. I did enjoy the surprises in the plot that we get. I also like how the filmmakers set up and paid off various items such as Jorge's bomb. One aspect of the movie that didn't work was that there were a few too many jump scares as compared to the first movie. Additionally, Thomas and Brenda's reunion with the rest of the group in the middle of the movie seemed too easy. How would Brenda be able to so quickly find Marcus? Also, what was the point of drugging Thomas and Brenda? I understand why Marcus did it but what purpose does it have to the overall story. Thomas could have remembered some of his memories by simply falling asleep again. He didn't have to be drugged. The first movie had a plot hole and so does "The Scorch Trials". If Marcus is working for WCKD, why does he not tell his employers where The Right Arm is so they can eliminate? As for something else good to say about this film, the story almost seemed to be wrapping up but then we get the climax we needed. What happens to Minho in the climax is why I will probably see the final installment. The ending of the movie again has me asking questions but this time, I have questions about more possible plot holes. With how powerful WCKD seems to be, why didn't reinforcements come to wipe out the rest of The Right Arm after Dr Paige and Janson left? I would have been in a hurry to at least move to a different place if I was Vince.

The sequel contains many of the same people who worked on the first movie behind the scenes so that is good. I think the story of the first film gave us more drama and therefore better performances out of the actors than this time around. I was happy to see Berry Pepper and Alan Tudyk as new characters. I glad there is only one more book left and I am even happier that the filmmakers did not pull a "Deathly Hallows". The "Twilight" and "Hobbit" franchises did not need to split their final respective books into two movies and the "Hunger Games" franchise would later be guilty of the same crime ("Mockingjay-Part 2" was released after 'The Scorch Trials"). As with "The Maze Runner" trilogy of books, the film adaptations will also be a trilogy and I like that. Director Wes Ball made that clear if he was going to complete the trilogy as director. Both "The Maze Runner" and "The Scorch Trials" have their good points. The sequel is a bit better than the first movie because of the action pieces but unfortunately both films have numerous drawbacks. The second movie lacks a fully organized narrative structure and the strong elements that made the first movie worth watching were not fully matched in "The Scorch Trials". The franchise is also becoming too similar to other franchises in the "genre". As indicated, these faults mostly have to do with the story and not the film adaptation. The movie will entertain and I will probably catch the final film when it comes out.

3 Stars out of 5