Since The Maze Runner: The Death Cure came out two weeks ago, I'm going to review the second installment of The Maze Runner franchise that started with the first one. The original Maze Runner deviated from the young-adult romance trope that plagued the recent adaptations after Twilight ended and it received mixed-to-positive reviews. While fans of the book series either hated it or found it ok, it was considered by many to be a much better young-adult adaptation. It had mystery, it had thrills, it had action and it had emotion. People liked it and so did I. Then, a year later back in 2015, I saw the sequel hoping it would live up to the first film, but while it was a decent enough sequel, it did disappoint me and I understand the mixed reaction from both critics and fans of the second book "The Scorch Trials".There are some positives that worked in the film. The cinematography is really gorgeous including the buildings and the actual desert, not to mention it's solid make-up and CGI effects on the Cranks. 61 million dollars went into the production and much like the first film, it was well spent. John Paesano, who scored the first film, did another solid job in delivering the same stuff he did from the atmosphere to the action music. Wes Ball, who directed the first film, delivered another top-notch direction. Also, the acting continues to be great with Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Alexander Flores, Ki Hong Lee, and Patricia Clarkson continuing to deliver excellent performances as did the new supporting cast including Giancarlo Esposito, Alan Tudyk, Rosa Salazar, and Aidan Gillen as the Rat Man, Jorge, and Brenda. And then, there's the action sequences which are more intense and action-packed including the chase scenes. 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. First, there's the writing, which sadly does feel a bit weak and borrows sources from other zombie-genre related stuff. Not only that, it deviated from the second book despite having some bits of elements which caused an outrage to fans. Also, while the film delivered on the action and thrills, it lacked the mystery and emotion that made the first film work. Not to mention the plot and character development were severely lacking. The new characters were well introduced, but no depth was given to them. Then, there's the pacing which is sadly another weak element to the film. I don't mind two hour films but only when they have development for the characters. The original film had brisk pacing and took it's time for Thomas to interact with the other Gladers and becoming a really great leader and those characters were the ones you cared about. 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. I haven't seen The Death Cure yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed it would be an improvement. 3/5

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. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is better than the first film in the Series but just like with the first Maze Runner film the plot is not good and the narrative goes back and forth for the entire running time of 131mins (which is a bit too much as well). But unlike with the previous film there's a bit more action this time and the scene with the Zombies was good and it's cgi better than i was expecting plus we get some new faces and some new villains too but it's plot at times leads nowhere and even tho it's talented cast tries and succeeds the film's script doesn't do what it's meant to be. Overall Maze Runner 2 is better than the first movie in the Franchise but still not as good as it could have been. (6.5/10)

This movie is bad. The first movie in the series while not amazing, was still interesting and made the viewer exited to find out why/what/where/who? But this sequel is an absolute disgrace, same as with a lot of these kinda "Tween" movies, the pasing is completely fucked, new charecters are introduced early on and the killed without having any development. And oh did i mention its a fucking ZOMBIE MOVIE!!!??? This movie has almost nothing to do with the first one, its a completely new world, with boring charecters and badly filmed/coreographed action scenes.

A decent action film, like the first. Some scenes can be extremely tense, particularly the chase scenes. Most of the CGI was good, but could still use some improvement. The city sometimes looked a little too fake in my opinion. All of the action is quite thrilling, the glass scene being intense. The acting was also good, my favourite being Aidan Gillen from Game of thrones. He is amazing at playing a deeply unlikable villain. Certain characters are not given enough time to expand on and feel like they come out of nowhere. There is a death scene that could have been very sad if we knew the character better. The film definitely feels like set up for the next, this could be due to it being based on a book. It needed more of pay off in this film to make it feel more than just set up for the next.I liked the twists in the film, but it needed more time explaining it. Overall a decent action film but can be improved!