‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ is running action

BY

Ron and Leigh Martel
Movie Reviewers, The Friday Flyer

Last year’s “Maze Runner” was mesmerizing, as the active word for the action-adventure was “maze.” In this exhausting sequel, the active word is “runner;” as in “run Thomas run!” Played by a very engaging Dylan O’Brien, Thomas and his fellow Gladers, scurry from one predicament to another, seemingly without much food, water or thought.

Today’s young adult (YA) novels love to hate our collective dystopian future, whether it be Katniss in “The “Hunger Games,” Tris in “Divergent” or any of the many other heroes of the blockbuster YA novels. The future is bleak, government oppressive and adults don’t seem to understand or give proper credit to its youthful leaders.

As the second in the trilogy, “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” suffers from middle movie syndrome. Seemingly out of dialog, returning screenwriter T.S. Nowlin advances the storyline ineffectively. He has the teeners run from place to place with exhilarating and terrifying action. In between, there could be more lines of meaningful script.

In this episode of the blockbuster saga, Thomas and his fellow Gladers (those previously imprisoned in the Glade), now face another series of monumental challenges. Upon escaping from that seemingly impenetrable labyrinth, they seem to have finally found what seems to be their intended sanctuary. But, the Gladers don’t know whom to trust.

They continue to find themselves fleeing from constant danger. Fortunately, movie architects design every building with “secret” air ducts large enough for anyone to crawl through on all fours. Their next journey takes them through the Scorch, a desolate and god-forsaken wasteland, with not that much hope for their eventual safety.

The extreme elements of this apocalyptic terrain (filmed in New Mexico) are enough of a challenge, but they encounter undead zombie-like creatures, called Cranks, giving chase. Off they go again, staying just out of reach while negotiating a new maze each time. One Glader shares, “Bunch of crazies want to eat us for breakfast.” After the enthralling pursuit, our runners escape and move on to a war-torn city of hi-rise structures, only to encounter yet another chase from the undead; whaa–aat?

These refugees discover the strange, mysterious and powerful organization called WCKD (pronounced Wicked) and another called The Right Arm. They need to team with the resistance fighters, assuming they can identify who’s who. The Gladers are determined to understand their enemy’s secrets, uncover its plans, and then fight against overwhelming odds (what else?). Thomas’ plan seems to be, “I’m going in.”

Returning director Wes Ball has been given a larger budget than the original to create more complex sets and more non-stop action. Based on the novels by James Dashner, teeners seem to eat this stuff up, even though the result is less than the expected result. In fairness, the multi-cultural cast is charismatic, believable, and enjoys the requisite chemistry amongst each other to sustain us until the third and final(?) installment.

As a standalone feature about rebellion, politics and zombies, it is too long, repetitive and doesn’t catch its breadth long enough to develop its fascinating characters. However, it is entertaining, reveals some of the reasons for their captivity, and should adequately bridge the two bookends of this popular trilogy.

“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” is 131 minutes and rated PG-13 for violence, action and language. Having not read the books, we understand this episode is wildly different from the book, including the story and backstory development. The production team’s plan is to get back on track in the final chapter, “The Death Cure,” (2017).

During one of the numerous pursuits, a Glader asks, “Ever get the feeling the world is against us?” Later, as another changes into a Crank, she describes our own feelings about the exhausting action scenes, “I’m slowly going crazy; I keep wanting to chew off my own fingers.” Nevertheless, stay tuned for the “A-Maze-ing” finale.

Ron’s Rating: B-   Leigh’s Rating: C+