"The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" Movie Review

The Scorch Trials, the second film of The Maze Runner trilogy, follows the Maze survivors as they are escorted to a facility where they are promised aid and shelter along with a peaceful new life. After some investigating, Thomas discovers that there's more to this facility than those in charge let on. Thomas and his group escape into "The Scorch", a barren wasteland of desert and rock. Now the survivors must navigate their way through the treacherous terrain in order to find safety.

The film was a polar opposite to its book counterpart so there's really no point in comparing the two, otherwise I'll be here all night still typing away. It did sadly feel like there wasn't as much care put into this film. The first film tried to be respectful of the book and keep close to its plot whereas this film took on a story of its own and left the book in the sandstorm.

The actors were still in top form and kept up their convincing performances. What made the film suffer was the writing. Even if you had never read the book or treated it like an alternate storyline, it was obvious the writers weren't quite sure where to go with the story. Here's a novel idea: why not follow the already-in-existence plotline that was set out for them? While the film had its exciting moments. it also had its dull moments. For instance, the title. Yes, I realize the book is also titled The Scorch Trials but aside from the title similarity, there was no real connection. There weren't even any trials. Thomas and his friends willingly escaped into The Scorch to get away from the company WCKD. In the books, they were told they were all infected with The Flare virus and they needed to get through the Scorch trials to find a cure. At least in the books there was a motivation and even a need to complete the trials. In the movie, it was all just there and played out the way it did because they needed to get the characters from Point A to Point B. Again, why not use the already-in-existence storyline?

In conclusion, I was a bit let down by The Scorch Trials. It was a decent film if you treat it as just a film and not an adaptation. If you're a big fan of the books, you probably will be supremely disappointed by all the huge changes. Overall, I give the film a 2 out of 4.