Grade: B+
Look, Thomas and his friends have been through a lot lately. They just escaped this weird maze, they lost some of their friends, were betrayed by one of their closest allies and they just want to be cut some slack.
Sorry, boys, but no such luck.
“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” picks up right where “The Maze Runner” left off. The Gladers have been rescued by a mysterious group of people after escaping the maze.
They are taken to a facility ran by a man named Janson. They learn they weren’t the only maze. There are other kids just like them and they’re all here waiting to be taken to a safe place.
With the help of a boy named Aris, Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien, discovers the entire operation is a scam and Janson is working for the people who put them in the maze: WICKED.
Thomas and his friends escape the facility and run straight into the Scorch, an expanse of land made of nothing but sand and the ruins of cities. In addition to the grueling weather conditions, the Gladers must watch their backs for the Cranks. The Cranks are those who have been affected by the Flare, a disease turning people into belligerent zombies.
The Gladers persevere, determined to find the Right Arm, a rumored resistance group hiding in the mountains.
When I watched “The Maze Runner” last year my biggest complaint was that it felt too rushed. There wasn’t enough time to process the scenes before the film was moving on to something bigger and more dangerous.
“The Scorch Trials” follows a similar pattern. There is a lot happening, but instead of making you feel overwhelmed it keeps you on edge. The pacing casts you as one of the characters, creating this constant feeling of anxiety and a nearly self-destructive hyperawareness.
The media isn’t exactly lacking in the dystopian department right now, but “The Maze Runner” series is leaning in a slightly different direction from the others. It doesn’t just want to show you how awful humans can be. It isn’t just calling for you to reevaluate our society and its morals.
It wants to scare you.
The Cranks are hideous and terrifying. They’re not your average slow of mind and body zombies. These suckers can move fast and they have this awful wail that makes you anxious even though you know they’re coming.
There’s an interesting overarching story to “The Maze Runner” that the producers and writers are in no hurry to reveal. At least not all at once. You’re forced to pick up little clues along the way and I have no doubt I’ll still be connecting dots into the fifth installment.
And as much as I hate not knowing, I think it’s a smart writing strategy. The films are good enough to stand on their own, but are made to be binge watched. I can foresee myself getting pumped for ABC Family’s “Maze Runner Weekend” a few years from now. It’s going to happen.
For now, I’ll just bite my tongue and wait another year to see if Thomas and the Gladers ever get that well-deserved break.
