Film Review: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
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I honestly really want to call this review the Curious Case of the Maze Runner, as after seeing Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, I am truly unsure about this franchise.
I struggled talking about the first film in the series because I had read the books and could anticipate and dissect the film from an adaptation standpoint. I was able to rave about certain things being cut out (like telepathy and the love angle), but also recognized that it still was hampered by its source material a bit.
The same sort of problems arise with this film, but on a much deeper scale. This movie is essentially about Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and friends trying to make their way across an area called the Scorch, trying to understand what has happened to them and how to find the Right Arm. Along the way they encounter Cranks, the mutant zombie like creatures that are plauging the earth and other crazy characters.
I will come right out and say it now that this was my least favorite book of the original trilogy and I was bracing for the faults in the film, even though I was reassured this movie was better than the book. For whatever its worth, it is indeed better than the book. However, it was tough divorcing myself of certain things. I knew that the trip to the dance party was going to be dumb as hell (and it was dumb in the Matrix sequels its just as terrible here), I knew that Brenda was an awesome character (she was and kudos to the amazing performance by Rosa Salazar), and I knew that the cranks would be crucial to telling the story (they were…until they weren’t). I also knew this movie had 50 million actors it seemed, and all of them did good to great jobs (Salazar, Giancarlo Esposito, and a wonderful cameo by Alan Tudyk are the highlights). And yet, the final product still couldn’t rise above.
But more than just struggles in the adaptation, the issues I had with this movie stem mostly from execution. While Wes Ball is one of the most gifted young directors, many of his action set pieces feel like they are “lovingly ripped off,” (credit to Spamalot for coining this term). On Twitter, I said the film was like 28 Days Later set in District 12 after the bombing with a splash of Terminator: Salvation and I’m sticking to it. Though I did jump once or twice, I never got the feeling that these kids were not going to get to where they wanted to go. The narrative almost never lets Thomas make a wrong decision or not come up with the right one, and while this was a tiny bit annoying in the first film, it’s a full blown nuisance here. All of this is to say that this movie was going for a sort of Mad Max: Fury Road vibe of character being revealed through action beats but the difference here is we still need exposition because there’s a conspiracy going on. The movie therefore felt like a slog, with the connective tissue just not being there.
So I must go back and think about the source material again and wonder why I’m feeling this way. I mean, most of the problem from the source material are gone! I should be happy. But it got me thinking that with the removal of the problems, that some of the weirdness and magic that made the books flow is missing here. One only need to look at Teresa’s role, or lack there of, as the evidence that something is happening from page to screen that’s not allowing these movies to fully take flight. Particularly in how WCKD is involved with all the troubles, we are two movies in and only barely understand how the cure is being found, which worries me that the third one will be crazy exposition heavy. Hopefully they can right the ship for the next, and thankfully final, film.
P.S. I also saw this film in Barco Escape format unknowingly and while I think that method had potential, it was used far too little to have a real impact on my experience with the film.
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