Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

The Maze Runner left you hanging for a year?  Here comes the sequel to answer the questions. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials has some pretty decent answers, but getting to them took a while.

The first movie revealed that the sun went berserk and "scorched" the Earth. Thomas, our intrepid hero, and his fellow Maze-Prisoners, were lab rats for the WICKED organization. They're saved by a Mr. Janson and company, who take them to their base. But, alas, Mr. Janson works for WICKED, so Thomas and friends have to escape.

The rest of the movie has Thomas and friends roam the post-apocalyptic world, the "Scorch." Along the way, they have to fight zombies called Cranks. They also find the anti-WICKED resistance, the Right Arm, and join them. They also have to keep under WICKED's radar, for it's a pretty strong radar.

Director Wes Ball returns to visualize this part of James Dashner's literary series. And it's the best kind of visual spectacle: a responsible one. The production designers realize this world with both practical and digital sets, and the transitions aren't jarring. The decayed, toppled buildings were such a sight it made me wonder where our heroes were. The Cranks were legitimately frightening, whether they were on-screen or not. Overall, the filmmakers knew how to spend the $61 million budget.

It'll take awhile before the film acquaints, or reacquaints, viewers with the franchise. Those who absolutely know the franchise already won't have a problem. But I had a few issues; I remembered one character who was mentioned in passing in the first film, died, but now she's back and is the Big Bad. How? The film drags its heels a bit, sometimes repeating the same gripes. It's longer than its predecessor, but that in itself isn't a bad thing. What is a bad thing is the rapid fire editing on certain action scenes.

Those who loved the first movie, or the books, will get their money's worth. Those who at least tolerated them will find a decent matinee showing. Either way, you'll have to wait two years for the concluding chapter, The Death Cure, which Ball stated in interviews will be one movie. Pray that doesn't change.