Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Plot synopsis:
The opening scene shows hundreds of people crowded around a quarantined area. A young Thomas is brought by his mother to be taken away for protection on board a train. She tells him she loves him and they never see each other again. On the train, Thomas meets Dr. Ava Paige (Patricia Clarkson).In the present, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and the rest of the Gladers; Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), Minho (Ki Hong Lee), Frypan (Dexter Darden), and Winston (Alexander Flores) are brought to the desolated city following their escape from the Maze. Once they descend, a horde of infected people ("Cranks") start running towards them, but the mercenary soldiers ("mercs") escorting them fight them off. They take the Gladers into a facility run by Janson (Aidan Gillen). He says this place will provide the Gladers with shelter, food, clothes, and protection from "The Flare".Thomas joins Minho and the other boys in a cafeteria. They see other groups of people their age, meaning they weren't the only ones that survived a Maze. Frypan points out one boy, Aris (Jacob Lofland), who has been in a Maze the longest, and in one with mostly girls. Janson then walks in and calls on the names of several people for what is supposedly a relocation. Teresa's name is called and she joins the others as they walk out.That night, Aris gets Thomas out of bed and guides him through the vents to show him the room where a number of bodies are wheeled into a room for tests and research. Thomas starts to think they're doing something bad with Teresa.The next day, another group of people are called out. Thomas gets into a brief scuffle with a guard to steal his ID badge. That night, he and his friends sneak out of their rooms to find Teresa and the others. Thomas encounters them all hung up to a mechanism of sorts, and all of them are unconscious. Thomas then walks into a room where he sees Janson talking to Ava through a projection. He's been running tests to see who is immune to The Flare, and he mentions trying to find a group called The Right Arm and their grounds called Safe Haven. Thomas realizes Janson works for the World in Catastrophe Killzone Department (WCKD).Thomas gathers Newt, Minho, Frypan, Winston, and Aris, and tries to find Teresa so they can escape. They come across a merc who aims his stun gun at them, until Minho dropkicks him into a wall. Thomas grabs the gun and gets a doctor to take them to Teresa. They grab her and head out to the exit. Janson and some other mercs try to stop them, saying they won't last long out their in "The Scorch". Thomas fends them off and barely makes it out with the others.Now on the outside in a vast desert, the Gladers venture toward the mountains to find The Right Arm. They come across an abandoned building and discover the place has power, but when they turn it on, Thomas and Minho find themselves attacked by some Cranks. They chase after the boys, then the rest of the gang once they run back into each other. As they find an exit, Winston holds them off with a gun, but one of the Cranks attacks him and scratches him. The others pull him out.The Gladers continue walking through the mounds of sand as day breaks. Winston collapses, as he's been infected and it's spreading rapidly through his body. He only wants to be put out of his misery and not transform into a Crank. Frypan takes out a gun, which Newt takes from him and hands to Winston. Winston says his goodbyes to his friends, and they leave him. On their walk, they all hear a single gunshot.As the others rest for the night, Thomas spots a civilization in the distance. When the gang keeps moving, a massive lightning storm starts brewing. Powerful bolts strike down, hitting Minho but non-fatally. His friends grab him and they run into another building. There, they find dozens of chained Cranks. Out of the shadows comes Brenda (Rosa Salazar), who lives there with a group of survivors. She guides the Gladers to her leader/surrogate father figure Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito). He notices the tattoos on the backs of the Gladers' necks, realizing they came from a WCKD facility and that they are valuable. Jorge also learns they are looking for The Right Arm.Soon, a band of WCKD mercs, led by Janson, storms the place. Thomas runs away with Brenda, separating himself from the other Gladers. Jorge plays a song that triggers a series of explosives when it finishes. The facility collapses and kills the mercs. Thomas and Brenda run toward an exit as they are pursued by Cranks. They run outside into a collapsed building. Brenda slips and nearly falls through a window. A Crank emerges and attacks her, but Thomas breaks the glass and causes the Crank to fall out while he pulls Brenda up.The two head on to find the others and come across a nightclub of sorts, run by another survivor, Marcus (Alan Tudyk). He knows something about The Right Arm, but he doesn't tell Thomas and Brenda of his identity, and instead gives them a drink for them to get in the feel of the party. Thomas trips out a bit, and Brenda approaches him. They move in to kiss, but Thomas only sees himself kissing Teresa. He tells Brenda she isn't Teresa, leaving her disappointed.After experiencing trippy visions, Thomas wakes up to find Teresa and Minho sitting over him. He and Brenda are back with Jorge and the Gladers, and Thomas finds Jorge beating Marcus's face in. After a few good punches, Marcus tells the gang where they can find The Right Arm.The group takes Marcus's car and drives by a mountain with many abandoned cars. When they get out, gunshots are fired at them. Jorge hands Thomas a bomb to use a distraction, but they are cornered by two female shooters, Harriet (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Sonya (Katherine McNamara). They recognize Aris and decide the group poses no threat to them.The ladies guide the group to meet the rest of The Right Arm, including their leader Vince (Barry Pepper). Brenda collapses, as she's been bitten by a Crank, but her infection hasn't spread as quickly as with Winston. Vince nearly shoots her until he is stopped by a former WCKD scientist named Mary Cooper (Lili Taylor). She reveals that Thomas was an informant to share information on all of WCKD's acts. She gives Brenda an enzyme shot to stop the infection from spreading.Thomas sits by Brenda's bedside. She mentions losing her mom to The Flare. Thomas pulls out the small totem given to him by Chuck, as he remembers the boy's sacrifice.That night, Thomas talks with Teresa. She says that she watched her mom go mad from The Flare, and she didn't want to give up on the rest of the infected... which is why she's been working for WCKD the whole time. WCKD helicopters are seen heading toward the mountains, as Teresa called them and told them where they are. Thomas runs to warn everyone, only for the choppers to start firing missiles at the people. The mercs descend and start attacking people. Thomas departs from Jorge and Brenda to save his friends. Ava and Janson step out, confirming that Teresa has been with WCKD from the beginning. Janson shoots and kills Mary, and he nearly kills again until Jorge drives in on a van, leading to a battle between WCKD mercs and The Right Arm. Janson nearly kills Thomas until Brenda shoots him in the shoulder. Thomas uses Jorge's bomb on a group of mercs. Minho gets shot with a stun gun and is taken by the mercs. Ava, Teresa, and Janson escape with Minho as Thomas helplessly watches the craft take off.In the morning, the survivors seem to have lost hope. Thomas gathers what he can carry and decides he's going back to infiltrate WCKD, rescue Minho, and kill Ava. Although Vince thinks he's crazy, Harriet agrees that she wouldn't mind some revenge. Now, everyone looks to Thomas as they prepare to take WCKD down.To be continued......

Tags: murder, violence, flashback, good versus evil, romantic, suspenseful, sci-fi

Review:
but unfortunately I got none of this answers, but what I did get were a lot more mysteries but no answers, but it's not like LOST where it leaves the audience thinking and putting things together and finding out the mysteries, but it's more of a dull and predictable mysteries every time they have some of the main characters talk to each other.This movie starts where the other one picked off, both in action and in mysteries, you will get 0 answers as to how the virus infected the world, or how the world was destroyed as it is, or what is the cure, and mainly you will see that there is no real motivation to be on wither side WICKD or the Gladers, because in fact what separates their motivations is just the way they use the antidote and nothing more, here there's more illogicalness than clever writing or a logical explanation of why Thomas and the others are against WICKD, but yeah the movies spends more of its time giving you more mysteries and making you more interested in seeing the final conclusion than actually put some sense into this chapter...
More, it seems like every time there is a dialog that can reveal key plot points or mysteries, or memories, is cut short and the subject quickly changes to something else, and it gets really frustrating, I was laughing as hard as I could with my friend in the cinema, while watching things like that or glass that breaks, then suddenly not breaks, then finally breaks, it's like the glass listens to the movie script, just like other things like storm or zombies.
However if you found the first movie to be a surprisingly entertaining, solid action flick;or if you don't mind the age of the main characters as long as the story deliveries, there's plenty to like here.
It seems as though the stunts doubles had little to do in comparison to the average action flick.If in the first movie you got 2 or 3 action scenes to keep you in the edge of your seat,in The scorch trials you'll find action almost from the beginning.I'm not a fan of non-stop action, but I was particularly impressed with Barry Pepper who I heard filmed his action scenes with a broken ankle.
If you don't mind these minor flaws on the script you might end up enjoying the ride.In my opinion, the strongest part of the movie, besides the thrilling action and good acting are the visuals.
Well let me tell you, films based on books or comics and stuff like that change things around to make the movie stand on its own and be appealing to multiple people.
The action, the music, the emotion, the characters and the story I found was so fitting, exciting, entertaining and perfect for the Maze Runner movies.
If you are like me whose been waiting to see this film until the last minute, now would be the time to see it; as it is now appearing to me that the lifespan torch of 'The Scorch Trials) is about to get snubbed out in the town I live in.
OK, so I found Scorch Trials exciting and more complete as a movie.It also had a better cliffhanger in my opinion, because I felt like I needed to watch the next part NOW.
The actual hero in the movie, was Aris (Jacob Lofland), who done all of the hard work by getting all of the information to escape the original compound but his efforts are put aside through the rest of the film, and all of the concentration is on Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), who in my opinion, was a poor ring leader.
Out of the whole cast, none of them really stood out for me but I did like Aidan Gillen (Janson), as the villain and Barry Pepper (Vince) as the brave "one man army" type of character, so I'm looking forward to seeing them in Maze Runner: The Death Cure, which is due out in 2017.
I just hope that there is an epic showdown because this mediocre sequel could do with a boost.Budget: $61million Worldwide Gross: $312.5millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their action/sci-fi/thrillers starring Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Giancarlo Esposito, Ki Hong Lee, Dexter Darden, Patricia Clarkson, Aidan Gillen, Barry Pepper, Nathalie Emmanuel and Rosa Salazar.
If guys want to watch a action packed film with a really good plot then you should go for this one.
At the end of the 130 minute running time, there are still a lot of questions about the true intentions of WCKD, or is that name alone already a giveaway clue?There was no more maze in this movie anymore for the characters to run through.
Action heavy is the latest sequel of the M.R. The sequel to the Maze Runner leaves a lot questions unanswered, but it delivers a slightly better film than the first one.
However, development of story will leave some viewers confused and fans unsettle as it feels like it's going from one place to another with few explanations.(Maybe gearing up for the last installment?)Overall the M.R: Scorch Trials with its' pros and cons is worth a watch from fans and non fans alike..
I would say that people who aren't familiar with the trilogy or the characters might find this film tedious.In my opinion, it was a great movie filled with many moments that neither excited me nor moved me, yet I was captivated.
I like everything about it.It has suspense and good sense of humor,too.The film has great effects and some high class action.It was a little bit scary in some scenes but i don't think it's something to prevent someone of seeing it,unless they are younger than 16..
Overall, "The Scorch Trials" isn't original by a mile, you can see type cast actors from a mile, and if you know their acting backgrounds, their characters in this movie won't surprise you.
The pacing of this film is very much an issue and if they'd edited out at least some 20 minutes of the film it could've been much more engaging.The cast is pretty solid and Dylan O'Brien turns in a charismatic lead performance, but the issue here is that these characters aren't developed at all and the action scenes seem to take center stage.
I was excited to see the scorch trials after watching the first movie and being a fan of the books.
Its ending all but assured i had to see the sequel, and today, i saw it...It's really really good,i loved it, i cant say if it did match my expectations or not because i didn't know almost nothing about the sequel nor i saw much about it, because i chose not to, but i can say i liked the original a bit more.The story picks up right after the first film, and it is generally about explaining the tons of mysteries left to explain in the first film (mostly in that ending), a bit more about WICKED, who are the good ones and the bad ones and what the characters want to do with all that information.Though there are still some things to explain, since in this film its all very vague and rarely mentioned, like what concretely happened to the world, and how the virus started and what really is the virus and the origins of WICKED.
I have never read the book and not sure I am going to but all I know is the movies are definitely worth watching.
The silk purses and sows ear proverb come to mind as I do not think it was possible to redeem this movie no matter how good the acting could have been.You can pick the plot from only a few minutes into the film , so no surprises there.
I have not read the books, I went with the expectation of watching a good movie and saw a great one!
While evading Cranks (zombie-like creatures affected by the outside world's solar flares), they must venture out to this metaphorically wider maze to find any other rebels out there fighting for the same cause to put an end to W.C.K.D.'s nefarious plans.With this game of "cat-and-mouse" being played nearly throughout this interesting sequel, it started to remind me of (most notably) George Orwell's novel 1984 and the 2008 techno-thriller movie, Eagle Eye. Because like the latter, The Scorch Trials had this whole theme of paranoia, deception, and loyalties being tested mixed together.
Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, Revolution) as rebel leader Jorgè was certainly a change of pace compared to his TV characters he's known well for, but his inclusion into this film series proved to be notable for his style of acting, especially since he's no stranger to post-apocalyptic scenarios.As a whole of over two hours ten minutes running time, the cast delivered great performances and the action sequences were such a nail-biter that you'll miss the best part if you turn your attention away for only a moment.
Despite not having any directorial involvement in any other titles prior to this film series, director Wes Ball is starting to demonstrate that he can helm a movie on this second round of maze running.
Had to join just so I could write this review, I liked the first Maze runner, Not read the books, but I liked the concept behind the story.when i saw the second installment was out, I got exited about seeing it, While the film started OK and I thought we where going to get more, quickly realized that it was gonna be a zombie flick, which i enjoy, but no then most of the film is the cast running towards a mountain hideaway, with them then running towards a smaller hideaway, where they are all ambushed, even though it was nighttime and they where with renegades, The enemy managed to sneak up on them with helicopters and lights, i actually left the cinema, it was a complete waste of money and time, and whoever made this has just spoiled any sequels.
Watching "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" (PG-13, 2:11) is a lot like experiencing that haunted house.This film is the sequel to 2013's "The Maze Runner" and is the second adaptation of James Dashner's initial "Maze Runner" trilogy (which has since added a prequel and is about to add another).
The story is even more divergent (pun intended) from its source material than the previous movie was, this time preserving not much more than the mythology, main characters and the most important of plot points.The action picks up right where it left off at the end of the first film, with Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and the remaining Gladers, Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Minho (Ki Hong Lee), Teresa Agnes (Kaya Scodelario), Frypan (Dexter Darden) and Winston (Alexander Flores), taken by those who rescued them to a large facility where there's food and fresh clothes.
I have read ALL the books and watch the first and second movie and I know that scorch trials is a bit different to the book but it's amazing it continuously draws me in.It is full and suspense and tension.I Don't CARE WHAT PEOPLE SAY but this movie was awesome one of a kind and is personally my FAVORITE movie of all time.I never knew it would be that good but it ABSOLUTELY blew me away.CRAZY BOUT THIS FILM 😘😍😍😍😍😍😍 forget everyone else this movie is BAE LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!
Yes there are again a few cliché moments, that make you question the characters, otherwise it really is a truly entertaining film, with some of the better action scenes I've seen this year.
I won't be seeing the third as this has nothing to do with the franchise I liked.I understand that the scorch trials book is a good read but would not have adapted to a good movie, but to turn a science experiment into resident evil ruined the whole point of the books, that the kids depended on one another, And never had a clue what was going on..
It gives out a great portion of the story...13 minutes - and you don't know much, just like the characters, you constantly try to figure out, what's going on 26 minutes - a bit lame, but it keeps you entertained 44 minutes - I appreciate the post-apocalyptic scenery, it really looks nice 1h 9 minutes - I am not really fond of those kids, but the action is quite solid 1h 23 minutes - the film has got so much potential, I am pleasantly surprised most of the time, yet there is something off about it.
Those set pieces alone are worth watching if anyone else checks the movie out on DVD.That being said, there are some drawbacks that disappointed those who loved the first film and the book series.
There's some of it here but not enough considering the weak writing and it's deviation from the source material.Overall, The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is a decent enough sequel and it delivered what it promised in the trailers, but sadly, it wasn't nearly as engaging as the first film.
S. Nowlin to help him with the book-to-movie adaptation of The Scorch Trials.The second installment picks up right where the first one ended.
Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and his fellow Gladers keep searching for clues about the real purpose of WCKD while teaming up with a resistance group of survivors in the middle of the Scorch, a destroyed landscape with virus-infected humans.The Scorch Trials had a tough task to start its story considering that the ending of the first film is pure nonsense and the reason why I almost did not rate it positively.
This time around, the ending at least makes sense and it effectively finishes the movie, instead of completely destroying its story like in the previous one.One of the exceptional features of the first movie is the cast and everyone that keeps portraying their roles in this one becomes even better.
For example, Aidan Gillen (Janson) and Giancarlo Esposito (Jorge), from the famous Game Of Thrones and Breaking Bad. With so many talents added to the cast, it is a pity that their characters are not developed at all ...The second half of the film entirely changes the movie and it turns into something I've seen a thousand times in action films.
One of the biggest concepts of the plot of the book was the actual "Scorch Trials," which was never even explained or touched in the movie, it was just teenagers and a middle aged man running in a post apoctlyptic town with zombies looking for "The Right Hand" which doesn't even exist in the book.
if you are a fan of dystopian and post-apocalyptic movies, you will definitely love this sequel to bits.It is adventurous, mysterious and exciting to watch every time!
But to those of us that have read the books, we would like to know what the director was on when he was making this movie.
'MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS': Three Stars (Out of Five)Post-apocalyptic sci-fi sequel, to the 2014 hit; both films are based on the book series, by James Dashner.
And even the horror-movie-like-aesthetics remain, passionate about showing the terror of these creatures and the probability of losing any major character (if only they are well developed, but still effective in suspense, anyway.)Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is fun, but not by much.
In other words, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials doesn't have enough material to justify its 131 minutes of running time, even though it certainly tried, introducing more disposable characters, new settings well created by the special effects and some slight clues regarding the road the third (and last, I guess?) film will take.
Anyway, the point is that, despite its mediocrity and unlike most of the cinematographic adaptations of that literary genre, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials didn't bore me and it didn't make me feel like wasting my time, and that's enough to make it worthy of a slight recommendation..
Being someone who loved the books in the Maze Runner series I couldn't wait to see this film, as I thought the first installment was brilliant, however by the end of The Scorch Trials I wish I hadn't bothered.
Forgoing the overrated and overstated hype of the now thankfully finished Hunger Games franchise and the terrible blandness of the Divergent/Insurgent series and what your left with for futuristic Gen Y kicks is the highly enjoyable and baggage free Maze Runner series, a series that seems to know and understand what it is and has fun doing it along the way.Returning to the director's chair once more, Wes Ball and his cast of willing young stars continue on with their good work they started within the original film and while The Scorch Trials misses out a little on the underlying mystery and unique premise that propped up the original adventure there's still a sense of adventure and thrills that starts off the new film and continues on throughout.So often films cut from the same cloth of The Scorch Trials try and bring gravitas and unnecessary emotional baggage to the stories that needed to instead streamline their focus onto their strengths not ad to an already loaded premise and that's where the Scorch Trials really succeeds.We know just enough to care and hero's' and villains don't need to much exposition to make us understand why they tick and Ball has a blast exploring the now 'crank' infested wasteland that was once America and as he did with the first Maze Runner adventure action comes on thick and fast yet is handled with a certain flair that makes it that much more engaging.While the film's final stanza falls a little flat, scenes including a frenetic chase through an abandoned shopping mall, an explosive music led factory fight and a tunnel escape that leads into a fallen skyscraper are all a league above usual such event films and Ball should be credited with keeping the film ticking along at a pace that feels justified in its 2 hour run time.The Scorch Trials is under no illusions as to what it is and while dialogue and characters are all stock standard this is a highly enjoyable and perfectly paced dystopian adventure film that has successful marked the Maze Runner series as the best of the bunch of recent Gen Y book adaptations and a highly effective actioner in its own right.3 post-apocalyptic Gustavo Fring's out of 5.
I really enjoyed watching the first Maze Runner but I didn't think this was quite as good.The Scorch Trials got some great and intense, action packed scenes, good acting and cool environments but that's it.