The Scorch Trials
Director: Wes Ball
Author: James Dashner
Release Date: September 18, 2015
Rating: 8.5 Out of 10
After having escaped the Maze, the Gladers now face a new set of challenges on the open roads of a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles.
From the Book:
Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.
My Review:
The Scorch Trials is what caught me in The Maze Runner series period. So going to this movie was by far one of my more questionable choices. I was afraid that they would take some liberties with the movie and ruin one of my favorite books. So I was rather surprised by the turn out first off all, and the overall end result of the movie. I was more than happy with it, and frankly it got some of my highlight clips or highlight movie of the year for under-rated, under-appreciated movies of the year.
First of all I want to talk about the Cranks in this movie. Yea I understand they were all extras and mostly CGI, but they were just brutal. I loved them, they were great and frankly the sold black, bloody visuals of their mouths, and how overly aggressive they were. I mean if you look at Walking Dead they are so stiff and they don't have this crazy abnormal movement that I usually look for, and that's why they are so damn scarey. They honestly take the best part of the movie, and even the full term Cranks were worse. This was the one point I was worried about, I mean how do you get to show something so cruel on TV and keep it in the appropriate rating? They nailed it and I am happy for it.
Now onto the characters, which for the most part all were great, they all pretty much were the same. there was some that I was hoping would be better, or would show up in other areas. However, it was Thomas, Minho, Newt and Frypan that seemed to take the forefront of most of the movie. The one that I was hoping would've had a better job was Teresa, she was supposed to be this hated, betrayal. I was surprised that most of her actions and the betrayals were cut. I didn't find her betrayal at the end all that impactful, more surprising, but the buildup just wasn't there.
Two other characters that appeared later in the movie that stuck out and again they were what made the movie for me. Brenda, Patricia Clarkson, is the second love interest for Thomas, and she is far better than Teresa. Her character build up was miles better than the betrayal of Teresa, which for the book was opposite. Than Jorge, Giancarlo Esposito, was the second character that I found interesting. Jorge wasn't there for much, but the fatherly character was just emotionally impactful. I love the connection they built with Brenda.
There was two parts of the movie that differ from the book that just took me by surprise. Thomas wasn't really supposed to break out the way they did, or break out at all. First, there was this tattoo that was supposed to be on Thomas and the groups backs, Thomas and Teresa both being messages they would put the groups on edge. Than, there was two groups, one led by Teresa and one by Thomas. In a race to cross the scorch. However, when they woke up from a night the camp they were in was empty or something of the sort, they were more or less abandoned to the scorch, with a mission. I wasn't sure why there wasn't the multiple groups, it was the more confusing part of the movie, it was doable, but would've needed a bit more time.
Overall, the movie was fantastic, I loved it. I wanted more Cranks in the end, and they the best part of the movie. The Cranks just made The Walking Dead's zombies look huggable. So if you have a free weekend and you enjoyed The Maze Runner, stop in and watch it.
First of all I want to talk about the Cranks in this movie. Yea I understand they were all extras and mostly CGI, but they were just brutal. I loved them, they were great and frankly the sold black, bloody visuals of their mouths, and how overly aggressive they were. I mean if you look at Walking Dead they are so stiff and they don't have this crazy abnormal movement that I usually look for, and that's why they are so damn scarey. They honestly take the best part of the movie, and even the full term Cranks were worse. This was the one point I was worried about, I mean how do you get to show something so cruel on TV and keep it in the appropriate rating? They nailed it and I am happy for it.
Now onto the characters, which for the most part all were great, they all pretty much were the same. there was some that I was hoping would be better, or would show up in other areas. However, it was Thomas, Minho, Newt and Frypan that seemed to take the forefront of most of the movie. The one that I was hoping would've had a better job was Teresa, she was supposed to be this hated, betrayal. I was surprised that most of her actions and the betrayals were cut. I didn't find her betrayal at the end all that impactful, more surprising, but the buildup just wasn't there.
Two other characters that appeared later in the movie that stuck out and again they were what made the movie for me. Brenda, Patricia Clarkson, is the second love interest for Thomas, and she is far better than Teresa. Her character build up was miles better than the betrayal of Teresa, which for the book was opposite. Than Jorge, Giancarlo Esposito, was the second character that I found interesting. Jorge wasn't there for much, but the fatherly character was just emotionally impactful. I love the connection they built with Brenda.
There was two parts of the movie that differ from the book that just took me by surprise. Thomas wasn't really supposed to break out the way they did, or break out at all. First, there was this tattoo that was supposed to be on Thomas and the groups backs, Thomas and Teresa both being messages they would put the groups on edge. Than, there was two groups, one led by Teresa and one by Thomas. In a race to cross the scorch. However, when they woke up from a night the camp they were in was empty or something of the sort, they were more or less abandoned to the scorch, with a mission. I wasn't sure why there wasn't the multiple groups, it was the more confusing part of the movie, it was doable, but would've needed a bit more time.
Overall, the movie was fantastic, I loved it. I wanted more Cranks in the end, and they the best part of the movie. The Cranks just made The Walking Dead's zombies look huggable. So if you have a free weekend and you enjoyed The Maze Runner, stop in and watch it.
