Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Still, there's plenty of fun to be had from the fleet-footed zombies and random nods to Mad Max.

If it sounds like there isn't an original thought in The Scorch Trials' scripted head, you're right. But at least you won't be smacking yourself in the head trying to figure out what's going on.

Unlike the second Hunger Games movie, which largely felt like retread, the latest Maze Runner opens up its world and actually contextualizes the motive behind the bad guys.

The teen dystopian franchise continues to play rough, and now even rougher, with satisfying results.

The specific details about 'The Scorch Trials' world, its protagonist's backstory, and its David-vs.-Goliath plot are of little actual consequence.

The sequel is terrible and all my original criticisms for the first film still stand, but at least it's a more entertaining kind of awful.

Unlike other YA franchises, the basic emotional underpinnings remain vacant in The Maze Runner movies, and the action isn’t good enough to keep our attention.

Scorch Trials does not present any new themes or much character development but it does cement the concepts of truth and freedom that The Maze Runner introduced.

Yes, there are the standard story beats to hit, but Wes Ball doesn't seem interested in simply hitting them and moving on. Instead, he wants to understand why something might happen and what the implications of it are.

It's difficult not to compare this film to the numerous sources from which it clearly derives inspiration - and sometimes uncanny similarities.