Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials – Movie Review

I was definitely not a fan of last year’s “The Maze Runner”. As much as I like Dylan O’Brian on MTV’s “Teen Wolf”, his energy and charisma just couldn’t save the utterly dull young adult sci-fi epic. Still, I hoped that the follow-up, “The Scorch Trials” would be far more entertaining. Unfortunately, the film adaptation of the second in a series of novels is just as boring as the first was.

After having escaped the maze in the first film, Thomas (O’Bryan) and his friends thought they were rescued when they were brought to a massive facility and given fresh clothing, food and beds. It turns out Janson (Aidan Gillen) has an agenda for the teens, along with Doctor Ava Paige (Patricia Clarkson) from the first film.

Once Thomas discovers he and his fellow Gladers are about to be harvested for their blood, they make their escape into the desolate desert landscape, referred to as “The Scorch”. The harsh elements of the scorch aren’t the only dangers the Gladers face, there are also zombie like creatures and these CGI suckers are fast. It doesn’t take long for one of the teens to get infected by the zombies while on their way to find a group of resistance fighters known at the “Right Arm”.

“The Scorch Trials” features an impressive adult supporting cast that includes Alan Tudyk, Lili Taylor, Barry Pepper, and Giancarlo Esposito. The cast does their absolute best with the material they are given, but some of the worst dialogue I have heard spewed this year in a feature film is in “The Scorch Trials”. If this film is a hit, I am sure they will adapt the next novel in the series. I am just dreading the day they decided to split the final book into two films, because that is the current trend.

By: Marc Ferman