“It’s going to be legen.... wait for it”. Though some may wail in frustration, the truth is there’s nothing long with making people wait a little while before delivering the goods. Whether you’re a band keeping the stadium a buzz before you take the stage, a bride ready to take her big moment down that aisle, or Stephen Moffat making Sherlock Series 4 (okay, maybe not that last one), it can heighten the anticipation of your audience to make the experience all the more worthwhile. “Worthwhile” is the key. You have to go out there and rock the crap out that stage, glide through the congregation like a goddess and... you know what Moffat , just get it done! All pain of the wait has to vanish in the pleasure of the reward unless you leave people wondering why they even bothered. Although The Maze Runner had some isolated elements to its story, its ending left many labelling it as just one colossal setup for its sequel. Which is fine as long that film delivers. So as The Scorch Trials arrives, the heat is certainly on to live up to those expecations. Was it worth the wait? Yes and no. It is a significant improvement on the first film but it’s still not as conclusive or purposeful as it needs to be, and again its largely just building us up for the final (split films) chapter, “.....dary”.
After being rescued from the maze and brought to a strange compound, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien – Teen Wolf), Teresa (Kaya Scodelario – Skins), Newt (Thomas Sangster – Game of Thrones) and the rest of the Gladers soon find they’re still being manipulated by the mysterious WCKD organization. A break out sends out into the desert “scorch” wastes of the former world in hope of survival.
At first glance, it looked like Scorch Trials would suffer the same big problem as Katniss & company in Mockingjay Part 1 by losing the key feature of its last film: the maze (just as Mockingjay lost the games). In fact, it’s the best thing that could have happened to it. Instead of being stuck in one average location, it now has a whole world to traverse and destroy at will. Much of the post-apocalyptic scenery is brilliant to behold, from the huge ruined cities, underground tunnels, and mountain outposts, contrasted by the clean and pristine WCKD gateway facility. All this space provides far better action set pieces as well courtesy of the Kranks, those infected by the Flare virus. Although their CG is wanting in places, they are vast improvements on the “wiki wiki wild wild” Grievers. They’re essentially sprinter zombies and returning director Wes Ball gets some outstanding use of them. Several set piece sequences are genuinely thrilling as the survivors frantically sprint to safety in low light conditions through places like abandoned shopping malls (Desert of the Dead?). There are also some good rewards from the human vs human conflict even if certain main characters miraculously become weapons experts out of nowhere. This is when the film works best: when it stops trying to explain everything and name everything, to remember that it’s a film with purpose of entertainment.
The story is a bit weaker. It is vastly altered from the book but (please don’t kill me) in this case, that’s a good thing. Rather than deliver the source materials vast tangle of twists that could never all be effectively explained within a movie’s run time, things are simplified as WCKD being the bad guys that everybody’s running from (although there are still many drop in references to original story for book fans to pick up on). In a way, this presents a similar film to this year’s Mad Max, being one long escape and chase. Yet there’s a painful repetition to every stop on the journey as almost everyone they meet claims to really be the good guys (it’s reminiscent of South Park’s Towlie episode). Neither is there enough reason given for the chase. It’s later explained why WCKD and their head researcher Jansen (Littlefinger himself, Aidan Gillen) needs immune kids for their Flare virus cure but not Thomas and his group specifically. Besides giving Gillen some seething moments, the script doesn’t help things either to the extent of neutering the young cast. Their characters and relations to each other were what held the Maze Runner together. Here there’s little effort in preserving them as exchanges boil down to simply moaning about a lack of plan or not wanting to die. Why? Because just like the maze before it all Scorch Trials is trying to be is a preceding chapter to the main story. It feels overpoweringly incomplete for still keeping most of the deck to its chest and such incapable of playing a winning hand. The only difference is it manages to be a more enjoyable spectacle in the process this time around. The fast pace might not by ideal but the film never stands still long enough to be boring.
It’s difficult to access the cast performances when many have been given much less to work with this film. O’Brien is still the centre of the film and does play well on themes of paranoia and trust. He doesn’t have any real standout moments but is enjoyable and energetic enough for the film’s requirements. Likewise, Scodelario is left with little story now her romantic arcs have been cut. She does present some good intrigue by having her memories restored and delivers an altered persona as a result. Sangster is largely wasted on background material as is Ki Hong Lee’s Minho. The adults fair a little better. While we’d prefer his Thrones level ruthlessness, Gillen still makes a great antagonist and makes some great snap transitions between his good facade and evil self. Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) is a little fun as a gang leader, Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan) is welcome in any military role (even if he doesn’t bellow “Porker get down!”) and Alan Tudyk is.... well he’s Alan freakin’ Tudyk!
The Scorch Trials is almost a reversal of Maze Runner in much more than its obvious captivity and freedom capacity. Last time, the action disappointed by the characters shone and in Scorch Trials, it’s the opposite. Even if this is beneficial to the individual film it’s detrimental to the franchise as it now presents as a more disposal blockbuster than a curious young adult drama, to the extent that many non-literary fans will have forgotten, its events when the next film comes around. Casual film viewers are likely to enjoy it, but science fiction die hards may find the material too light. But above all else, remember that this is Young Adult fiction so don’t go in expecting a Nolan-level masterpiece. If you’re just after some fast paced sci-fi action, then The Scorch Trails is worth the sweat.
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