They may have escaped the maze, but they’ll never stop running.

In the second installment of the Maze Runner series, adapted from the novel by James Dashner, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and the Gladers have escaped the maze and face the world corrupted by The Scorch. In this world solar flares have burned and destroyed the planet infecting humans with a deadly disease, The Flare. Thomas, Newt, Minho, and friends must all band together against the powerful organization known as WCKD (War Catastrophe Killzone Department), whose aim is to find a cure for The Flare, to discover the truth and see what they’re really up against.

The characters are essentially dropped into the outside world and forced to face brand new challenges, including the films own brand of zombie-esque creatures infected by The Flare called cranks. The cranks are a bigger and badder threat than any conflict the Gladers faced in the first film and will leave you jumping out of your seat. There are many high energy action scenes with danger and excitement at every turn. The bigger scope on the conflict allows the actors to participate in more elaborate stunts and show off their versatility as actors.

The extensive action scenes and stunts will draw the audiences in, but the overarching theme of teamwork and brotherhood among the characters will hold your interest. The bond between the Gladers is stronger than ever as they must work together for a single purpose, but the addition of fresh new faces keeps the character dynamic exciting. With the first film being dominated by male characters, The Scorch Trials offers many strong female characters audiences will fall in love with.

Brenda (Rosa Salazar), whom Thomas and friends meet in their journey through The Scorch, is a small fiery girl who lends them her knowledge and expertise on the events of the world. She is exactly the kind of character viewers love to see – confident and brave. Salazar does an outstanding job playing the intense personality Brenda portrays and she creates a character that is hard to forget. The teamwork in this film is stronger than ever as the forces of WCKD and the team grow to create the main conflict.

For fans of the novel, The Scorch Trials book to movie adaptation will seem very different. While the major plot is all there, many of the events were changed to fit the needs of the film. It is understandable the creative direction the director, Wes Ball, must take to adapt a book into a movie, although some of the changes came as a disappointment.   It seems as if the changes were often made as a set up for the third installment of the series rather than focusing on the current film. The ending specifically strayed far from the novel and leaves the viewer wanting more, all as a ploy to get the same audience back for the third and final movie.

Overall, the film often seems to move too fast and may be difficult to follow, but the bonding between the characters and fight against WCKD overshadows the minor issues to create a blockbuster hit.

Final Rating: 8.5/10