Review: Maze Runner - The Scorch Trials

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

   I saw this movie forever ago (last week) and I'm finally posting my review.  Maybe it took this long to really wrap my head around it, you don't know!

   It didn't.

   I never saw the first Maze Runner when it came out last year, for reasons I discussed in my post when this movie was coming out.  This one looked cooler.

   The downsides of this movie are mild but unique.  Again, I haven't seen the first one, but I saw this one with a friend of mine who did see the first one.  We both agree that there is a lot unanswered about the first one.  Why were they in the maze?  The Scorch Trials doesn't play up the mystery of that question so much as it leaves it virtually unaddressed.  Even the children who were in the maze don't seem to mind that they don't know why they were there.

   Along the same line is the question of where the series is going.  It's always good to have a sense of what everything is building toward.  Obviously in this series the main good guy must defeat the forces of evil in his world, but it's all a bit fuzzy.  The movie constantly affirms two things about the main character: 1) He's just a kid, and 2) He doesn't really know anything about the world he inhabits.  So how is he going to lead these people to victory?  The movie poses this question and promptly sidesteps it.  Some viewers will interpret this as something missing from the narrative.

   There are many bright sides to this movie - things they did well.  The lead actor was great.  He's believable, he's real, and I wish we could get him to play Spider-Man.  For someone I've never really heard of he was more than good enough.

   The production design was first class.  The sets they had were dressed to perfection and everything about them contributed to pull me into the story.

   The costume design did the same thing.  It was all very survivalist-chic.

   I'll throw in one last thing and say that the supporting cast really was just as good as the leads were.  The villain gets an honorable mention, for sure.  He's another actor I haven't heard of but he did a wonderful job.

   On top of all this the movie was very exciting.  The action was spot on.  And it's good to have a YA novel adaptation with a male in the lead instead of Bella, Katniss, or Tris.  Also, his name is normal - extra points for that!  And because we have a man in the leading role, his feelings don't unnecessarily play into the story!  Hooray!

  If you like good action and suspense with a nice little cat-and-mouse story that takes you into a very unreal world filled with very real characters, The Scorch Trials are for you.