Mini Film Review – Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Yesterday I watched Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials; and it was pretty good! Directed by Wes Ball, and starring Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and Ki Hong Lee, and based on The Scorch Trials by James Dashner; Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is a dystopian science fiction film, and the sequel to The Maze Runner. Following directly on from the events of the previous film, the escapees think they are safe, as they are welcomed into a cozy looking facility with other Maze survivors, but something doesn’t feel quite right! Where as the first film sort of takes it’s time to build it’s intensity, here the intensity is incredibly frequent. The best way to think of it, is basically the plot is very simillar to The Island, the idea of a nice place hiding a terrible secret, with unwilling applicants chosen by lottery. That’s the basic idea that launches the film’s narrative here. The pacing of the film though is determined entirely by wherever the filmakers think they can have a chase scene, or a fight scene, and so on. So in that respect it’s very much like World War Z, with a hint of Armageddon oozing through the cracks. So basically, things can, and do get worse, but at least there’s an occassional gap to pace it out properly. The film struggles with some of it’s newer characters, who get introduced really well, then disappear for the rest of the film. Plus thanks to some choices in casting, you can see a double cross coming before it happens. For instance, I would quite like to watch something, and be surprised that Aidan Gillen is not a key villain. When you see him, you already assume he’s a backstabber, so therefore not surprised (it’s not a spoiler either, as it happens incredibly early) when he backstabs. You just don’t get that feeling with Giancarlo Esposito, he’s either good or bad, and it allows room for a surprise either way. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is an interesting one plot wise. It plods along and can be very well camouflaged under everything else that happens, but the adrenaline pumping action keeps your eyes hooked to the screen, leading to a shocking but satisfying conclusion. But, you sort of want more science, to a supposed science fiction film; more background knowledge as to what has happened, and what is actually happening. This to me feels more focussed on action, than explanation!