The Maze Runner – the Scorch Trials (2015)

[Anthony G Williams]

I reviewed the original The Maze Runner film in June last year, and concluded as follows:

"This is a better film than I had expected: more original, darker in tone and more gripping than most YA fare, with the gradual unravelling of the mystery at the heart of it intriguing adults as much as the target audience. While this particular episode ends with the film, there is clearly much more to be resolved with the conclusion blatantly teeing up a sequel. So it's just as well that the film was a commercial success, with the next episode due to hit the cinema screens in the autumn. I will be looking forward to it with rather more interest than I am to the final part of The Hunger Games."

Sadly, The Scorch Trialscame nowhere near living up to my expectations. It continues the story without any break or recap, leaving this viewer struggling to recall what had led up to it (makers of film sequels seem to assume these days that viewers watch the original again immediately beforehand, but I don't have time for that). The intriguing aspect of the first film – the maze of the title – disappears and is replaced by a series of dark and dilapdated settings through which the youngsters are constantly being hunted, either by the bad guys from the first film or by people transformed into hideous, violent monsters by disease. All in all it's much more like a horror film than SF, and I found it barely watchable. To make matters worse, the reason for the interest in the young protagonists turns out to be something inherent to them, which was easily determined by the bad guys – so what was the whole Maze scenario for? Maybe that is clear in the books, but unless I blinked at the wrong moment it wasn't explained in the film.

Very disappointing – I am normally a completist but unless the next episode sounds very much better I won't be watching it.

(An extract from my SFF blog: Science Fiction & Fantasy)

 

[Adam Stubbings]

I read the book and found it to be inferior to the first novel, it was bordering on sheer lunacy in some places, but the film was garbage compared to the book, ripping out the actual 'trials' section, adding too many characters for purely facial recognition reasons (OMG LOOK ITS LITTLEFINGER) and just plain old changes made for absolutely no logical reason, considering the third novel was a terrible read im expecting a painful death for this once promising series.

 

[the_evil_ted]

I felt the same way, I was expecting some explanations for the Maze but it failed in providing that. Instead I found a poor zombie romp, which wasn't explored enough to be considered a real threat. They instead refocused on the corporate bad guys, and chucked a lot of questions at me without providing enough answers - and when it ended I was wondering what the trials were, I just put it down to them having to survive 'the scorch'.

I've not read any of the books, I started the first one. Couldn't get into it. I can't see me watching the third, or if I do I'll be doing the ironing at the same time...

 

[Old_Man_Steve2016]

I haven't seen the second movie yet, but I will eventually.
Of course, it would help if I stopped calling it the Scotch Trials.
Speaking of which, if anybody knows of any drinking game that accompanies the movie, please forward said game to me and I shall endeavor to play it.

 

[Heir]

ripping out the actual 'trials' section

So they took the trials out of a movie they still decided to call 'The Scorch Trials'?

I just put it down to them having to survive 'the scorch

I came to the same conclusion, because I wasn't willing to believe they were seriously that bold/foolish (depending on how you look at it).

 

[Brian G Turner]

Watched this, and superficially it seemed an enjoyable romp. But what bugged me is that the protagonist didn't really want to do anything, except run to the mountains.

In Mazerunner, the characters had to try and solve the puzzle of what was around them. In Scorch Trials, they never really figured anything out - people would simply turn up to explain everything - after saving them at the last minute.

Also - if the Mazerunners are "immune" then why wasn't one of them...immune? And the Mazerunner gang couldn't sneak up to that camp in a truck, but a pair of helicopters flying at night could catch it totally unaware?

It wasn't a bad film - it had a great pace. But it seemed more focused on rushing from one set piece to the next. The same characters who asked so many questions about themselves and their world during the first film simply stopped asking in this one.