MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS

Director:  Wes Ball

Year of Release:  2015

The dilemma I had with Maze Runner was, like with the Wire or Peaky Blinders, do I watch the first one, even though Aidan isn’t in it?  I’ll be honest, I didn’t bother with the Wire, I guess that just didn’t engage me that much, but with Maze Runner, as with Peaky, I think you need to watch from the beginning to put the whole thing in context.

I think the first Maze Runner is the strongest in the series, after that it gets increasingly muddled, the story line seemingly side lined for action and special effects, the dystopian landscapes are increasingly striking though.

The basic plot of the first instalment is a young man (Thomas) wakes up in ‘the glade’ a large piece of land surrounded by giant walls of what is, we learn later, a maze. He has no recollection of his life prior to arriving in the maze, although he does have flashbacks in dreams.  Eventually, Thomas leads a small group successfully through the maze to what, he thinks is safety.

The Scorch Trials starts. were the first film left off, with Thomas and friends arriving in their new home which is run by Jenson, played by Aidan.  I do wonder what attracted him to this role, this is the sort of thing he could do in his sleep, mind you not every man can pull off a polo neck jumper. I find the character a little too one dimensional, here seeming to serve no other purpose than to be a substitute hate figure for the big corporation he represents.

In terms of screen time, he gets more in the first part of the film, then save for one, pretty pointless, helicopter scene his character does not appear until the final scenes. These films also get progressively longer, this one clocks in at two hours 13 minutes, although it does move at quite a pace and there is plenty of action to stop you getting too bored.

The Scorch, a wasteland that Thomas and co must negotiate in order to get to what they hope is safety, (yes, we have been here before!) is populated by what appears to be zombies (here called ‘Cranks’). At this point in the film, it does feel like you have stumbled into an alternative version of the Walking Dead, although, here the Cranks are faster and can climb stairs, something Walkers have never managed.

As the film heads towards its action-packed climax, characters are briefly introduced and then forgotten, many are just plot devices and as such are given no backstory at all.  Jensen makes more of an impact, largely due to Aidan’s natural charm shining through, or maybe I am just biased. 

By the end, whilst I am not willing it to be over, it does get a little jarring. The script leaves a lot to be desired, is there really any need for Thomas to ask everyone if they are ‘good’ or ‘OK’ after every encounter.  Does the cliff hanger ending leaving me wanting more, the short answer is no! Especially since the next instalment is even longer than this one! I think the best way to describe the Maze Runner films is that they are best saved for a rainy day when there is nothing better to watch and you need your Aidan fix!