Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is the movie adaptation of the bestselling novel by James Dashner, and is the sequel to the book and movie The Maze Runner. However, it deviates quite a bit from the source material, sometimes in ways that make it lose some of what made the book distinct.
If you aren’t familiar with The Maze Runner, you will become very lost very quickly. The plot moves rapidly, taking little time to explain things that wouldn’t make any sense to people who haven’t read the book, which is why it seems so odd that there were so many changes to the plot. Plus, many parts of the movie seem directly “borrowed” from other works of apocalyptic fiction.
Apart from those problems, the frequent action sequences are very well done and often are truly tense. The visual design is great, and throughout the movie there is a strong atmosphere that helps distract from the thin plot.
If you’re interested in an action movie to distract you for two hours, I’d recommend The Scorch Trials. If you want something more engaging, or you enjoyed what made the books and first movie distinct from the rest of the played-out realm of zombies, post-apocalyptic dystopias and rebellious teenage protagonists, go ahead and give this movie a pass.
– By Colin Battis